Reach Out
by JenniferMarie20
Summary: Frisk was living on the surface with their new family. Everything was perfect except, the dreams that seem to belong to someone else. Something is left undone. The past is pulling them back. The world is reset, everything is undone. Somehow, they have to break the cycle and save everyone, and themselves. (pacifist run spoilers)
1. Chapter 1

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.

 _This AU has never experienced a geno or no mercy run._

Also, this story uses various unconventional formatting; upper and lowercase, as well as typos, in speech to help convey the character's emotional and mental state)

Chapter One

-A soft white fur hand, with small fingers and rough black pads on the fingertips.-

-"I can't come back."-

-Such a soft and gentle voice, fighting back tears. Soft fur. A smell like flowers and soil just after it rains.-

-"I just can't, ok?"-

-Small little black claws that had been filed down.-

 _-So he would never hurt anyone. He was always so-_

Frisk opened their eyes and squeezed the tears from them, rubbing their face. It was still dark in the small room Toriel had given them, in this small house at the base of Mt Ebbot. Frisk pulled the sheets up to their face, crumpling them against their eyes. After a moment, they turned on on the lamp and picked up the book on their bedside table. It was a book about monster history. Frisk never tired of looking at it.

When light began pushing through the window Frisk turned off the lamp and when they heard the first soft sounds, the creaking of wood and the soft click of an opening door, they put the book down on the bedside table and curled back into bed as if they were sleeping. Frisk heard their door click as Toriel opened it and peaked inside the check on them. The door closed and Frisk listened to her footsteps disappear towards the kitchen.

Frisk stretched under the blankets for a moment, staring at the ceiling and tried to ignore the faint tug at the back of their mind. It had been a wispy thread of a feeling at first, but everyday it had grown and it was pulling at their attention like a hangnail that kept snagging on their clothes.

Frisk shook their head hard and got out of bed, padding over the dresser and looking through all the different stripy shirts. This one was hand made by Papyrus, the color was off and one stripe was bigger then the other. The shirt from Undyne was thinner and made for Working Out!. Frisk smiled but they couldn't wear either of those, if they wore one shirt more than the other Pap and Undyne would get mad or sad or fight. It really depended on their mood. Frisk pulled out the sweater Papa Asgore had knitted, it was lumpy and purple with blue stripes; they pulled it on. Frisk had never been particularly fond of the stripey sweater they had fallen into the Undergound with, but that had changed, because whenever one of Frisk's friends give them a new shirt it made them very happy.

The door creaked open, "Breakfast, Frisk!" Toriel said cheerfully, "Oh my, you're awake? I hope I didn't wake you?"

Frisk shook their head.

Toriel smiled gently, "Come along then."

Frisk hurried after Toriel, grabbing onto her hand and squeezing onto with both their small ones.

"My goodness you've become very affectionate as of late." Toriel squeezed Frisk's hand lightly.

Frisk could smell the warm, sweet smell of cinnamon and hurried to the table, climbing onto the small chair that was just for them. Toriel disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a full plate.

"Cinnamon Bunnies!" Toriel said excitedly, setting the plate down on the table, "I was speaking with those lovely rabbit sisters who were setting up their shop and hotel here in town and they gave me this recipe!" she moved a bun onto the plate in front of Frisk, "I know it isn't really a breakfast food but I was just so excited to try out the new recipe!"

It was still warm. Sweet and cinnamon and wonderful. Frisk made happy noise, and Toriel beamed, sitting down across from Frisk and putting a cinnamon bun on her own plate.

Fisk took another bite, too big, it hurt going down.

-Cold snow, breath coming out in a fog and bones everywhere. Fear fought determination for dominance and everything hurt, so so much. _Just choke it down quick! Hurry before his next attack!_ -

The clink of a cup on the table shocked Frisk out of the memory.

"Have some tea, and take smaller bites for goodness sake." Toriel chided as she poured.

The teacup was hot on their fingers and the surge of heat sent a violent shiver down Frisks back. They still felt cold. Frisk tightened their grip on the cup and took a small sip of tea, feeling the warmth of it flow through their center.

"Are you alright, my child?" Toriel asked. She was watching Frisk closely. She reached out, her large fingers so gentle, as she brushed the hair from Frisks forehead to better see their face. "You look pale all of a sudden."

Frisk shivered and reached up and grabbed fingers, squeezing them, "Cereal?" Frisk asked.

"Would you rather have cereal then?"

Frisk nodded, letting go of her fingers.

Toriel smoothed Frisks hair down, "I suppose these are a little too sweet for breakfast. Perhaps I'll share them with everyone later. They'll make a nice snack."

Toriel brought Frisk a bowl of cereal. They ate quickly, relishing the blandness of it. Frisk followed Toriel into the kitchen with their empty bowl in their hands. Balancing on tip toe they put it in the sink with a clatter.

"Always so helpful." Toriel said, sliding the plate of cinnamon buns into the fridge.

Frisk smiled happily.

"Shall we spend the morning in the garden? It's such a lovely day."

Frisk jumped happily and ran to the back door, bouncing impatiently on their toes for Toriel.

"You don't have to wait for me, child."

Frisk beckoned impatiently.

"Yes, yes."

Toriel opened the door and Frisk rushed outside.

The air stung Frisks' nose but the bright sun quickly warmed it back up. The large garden beckoned, with young grass and crocuses pushing up delicate little purple, white and yellow flowers. On one side of the garden some vegetable beds were taking shape, freshly tilled but not yet planted. On the other side a bench sat under a tree, peeking green young leaves. Surrounding the garden, instead of a fence were the backs of houses, Sans and Papyrus', Asgores' and Undyne and Alphys', all with doors opening onto this shared garden.

Frisk went over the patch of crocuses and began plucking out the yellow ones. Dropping them onto the ground into a little wilting pile.

"GOOD MORNING HUMAN!" Papyrus' voice rang out across the garden.

Frisk stood up and did their best to brush the mud from their pants, waving to Papyrus exuberantly with both hands.

"WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY! FINALLY WEATHER WORTHY OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk ran over to Papyrus.

"SHALL I TELL YOU OF MY GRAND PLANS FOR THE DAY?"

Frisk nodded.

Papyrus beamed, "UNDYNE AND I, SHALL BE PATROLING THE TOWN TO KEEP THE PEACE, OR, ER, IS IT MAKE SURE THE PEACE IT BY BEING KEPT? WHO IT KEEPING THE PEACE THEN?!"

"You are, Knucklehead!" Undyne yelled from the front of her house, "Now move it! I want one hundred laps around this town done by lunch! And for lunch we'll punch trees! Fhuhuhu!"

"YES!" Papyrus turned to go then, spun back around, picking Frisk up and and spinning them around in a squishy hug.

Frisk giggled, still spinning slightly as Papyrus set them back on the ground and rushed off to join Undyne.

"causing trouble again?"

Frisk jumped and turned around.

Sans was lounging on the bench looking like he had rolled out of his bed already ready for an afternoon nap. Sans looked pointedly at the the back of Asgore's house. Frisk followed his gaze and saw that Toriel and Asgore were talking quietly together. Toriel was wringing her hands together. Asgore reached up a hand as if to squeeze her shoulder and then slowly lowered it.

Frisk looked back down at the ground and scuffed at the dirt with their shoe. They sighed and went over to the bench, pulling themselves up next to Sans and leaning into his shoulder.

Sans mussed their hair, "geez, kid. you know if you need something you only have to ask us. you don't have to go it alone anymore."

Frisk pressed their face into Sans sleeve. It smelled like Grillbys and snow even in spring. And it waswarm. Both Papyrus and Sans radiated a gentle heat, Sans more so than his brother. Frisk thought it might be from the magic monster were made of.

"Ah, Sans. Are you ready to go?" Asgore asked as he walked up, Toriel a few steps behind him.

Sans shrugged halfheartedly.

Frisk popped off the bench and went over to Asgore, arms upraised for a hug. Asgore knelt down and picked Frisk up, easily hold them up with one arm. "Good morning, little one."

"Going?" Frisk asked.

"Sans is going to assist me in a survey of the underground. I need to check up on those who are still living down there."

Frisk waved to be put down. Asgore lowered them to the ground and Frisk ran back over to Sans and put on a very serious face and put a hand to his forehead checking for a fever.

Asgore laughed. Toriel tried to hide a giggle behind her hand.

"very funny, kiddo." Sans said blandly.

Frisk grinned.

Sans slumped off the bench, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "well, let's get this over with."

Frisk grabbed Sans' sleeve and tugged on it urgently.

"what's up?" He asked.

"Wanna come." Frisk said softly.

"Oh! That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Toriel said. "Get some fresh air, have a nice outing. You've been cooped up in the house for far too long."

Asgore scratched his head.

Sans said, "if Frisk's going then i can just chill here."

"I am afraid I need your 'shortcuts', Sans. So that won't be possible." Asgore said.

"Just let me pack a quick lunch." Toriel said over her shoulder as she rushed back into the house.

"i just can't bring myself to argue with tory. i guess, i just don't have the _guts_." Sans grinned.

Frisk giggled.

"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Asgore asked, "It will likely take us all day."

Frisk nodded.

Toriel returned with Frisks' small backpack and helped them put it on.

"You'll be in charge of lunch and making sure they don't get into any trouble." Toriel said, tugging Frisks sweater down and smoothing their hair, before giving them a kiss on the forehead. "I shall keep my cellphone close so call me if you need anything."

Frisk nodded and ran over to Sans grabbing his hand.

"Keep an eye on them, Asgore." Toriel said, sounding more worried than she probably intended, "Make sure to carry them if they get tired."

"I will Toriel." Asgore assured her.

"Frisk won't complain so you really must-"

"don't worry tory. we'll keep a close eye on the little tyke." Sans squeezed Frisks hand, "ain't that right, shortstack?"

Frisk sighed and started walking towards the entrance to the underground, dragging Sans along behind them.

As they past the place where the barrier had once been Frisk felt the hair on the back of their neck stand up. The throne room was still carpeted with large golden flowers and as Frisk passed them they suddenly felt a wave of despair wash over them. They stumbled but Sans tightened his grip and steadied them. Frisk didn't let the feeling show on their face, they didn't want to be sent home.

The city took the longest to check over but there were very few monsters living there now. Except Muffet and all of the spiders who had happily moved into many of the abandoned buildings. Frisk hid behind Sans while Asgore spoke with Muffet, pressing their face into his back. Frisk liked Muffet but she always wanted to show off her pet and Frisk already had enough nightmares of the never ending climb, the web shaking, while all around them the spiders watched.

 _Aw, but isn't it cute?_

Frisk flinched and closed their eyes tight.

They worked their way through Hotland, which was miserable in a sweater, and waterfall which was always cool and soothing. All of the echo flowers spoke of hope and happiness now, and a few more puns after Sans had passed through.

Frisk had been looking forward to seeing Snowdin again but most of it had been dismantled and moved to the surface. What was left was covered in snow, so that it almost looked as if the small town had burned down and was covered in ash. Frisk huddled inside Sans jacket while Asgore walked around to all the old houses.

"One last stop," Asgore said, "and it will be quick."

Sans took them through a shortcut to the Ruins entrance. Sans shortcuts only took a second but passing through them was... strange, the world went black for a second and lurched and then it was back but somewhere new. Frisk always closed their eyes and held their breath before San lead them through, it made it easier.

They all slowed down as they entered the Ruins. Asgore became very quiet. Toriel's old house was empty and seemed lifeless, it rang like a tin can with every step.

Frisk couldn't stand staying in the house long and hurried to the sad little tree out front.

 _Every time this old tree grows any leaves, they fall right off..._ The voice was louder now. Frisk remembered it now. They had tried so hard to forget that they had thought it was just a bad dream, like so many others, but it had always been there. Their heart was pounding but they didn't know why.

Frisk pressed their hand to the dark crumbling bark and felt a deep reluctance to move deeper into the Ruins. The tugging hangnail feeling was stronger now. As Sans and Asgore headed in deeper, Frisk could feel the emptiness closing in around them and ran to catch up. The Ruins held nothing but emptiness, even without magic Frisk could feel that nothing lived here anymore, even the rocks had been carried aboveground.

"i don't think anyone's left in here, boss." Sans said.

"You are probably right." Asgore said softly, "but there is someone I would like to visit all the same."

They reached the end of the ruins. Frisk looked up at the pale light filtering down from the gap high up in the ceiling, down to the bed of golden flowers.

"this is where you fell in?" sans asked.

Frisk nodded.

"it must've been tough on you, but i'm glad it happened, you know?"

Asgore went over to the bed of golden flowers and knelt before it. He brushed his fingers across the petals, his brow crumpled with despair.

Sans glanced from Asgore to Frisk and shrugged.

Frisk stared at the flowers. They wondered if Asriel was still around somewhere. If he was watching? Did he remember?

 _-_ Don't worry about me. Someone has to take care of these flowers.-

Frisk walked over to the flower bed and touched one of the bright yellow petals. Was he still crying?

-I don't want to break their hearts all over again.-

"I wish you could've been here with us." Asgore said softly.

And Frisk felt it again, that intense yearning sadness. They could so easily remember Asriel's back to them as they had walked up, his rounded shoulders and the tears he tried to hide. Frisk had wanted to save him so badly. They pressed their hand over the ache in their chest.

Their heart was beating so fast. Frisk felt lightheaded.

They wished they could have saved him.

A wave of dizziness came over them and they wobbled. A deep pain blossomed in the center of their skull and spread out, filling their whole mind.

"frisk? you alright kid?"

-Frisk? Why did you come here?-

Their head throbbed.

"kid?!"

-Why did you come here?-

Everything went black and fell.

The flowers cushioned their fall.

…

….

…..

a/n: This story updates weekly! Thank you very much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory _.)_

Chapter 2

Frisks' head throbbed and the world spun violently. They clutched the ground, dirt and crushed flowers spilling through their fingers. They felt like throwing up. Frisk whimpered. The sound of their own labored breathing echoed through the cavern. It felt too empty.

"Sans?" Frisk mumbled. They tried to look around, tried to blink the world straight. The cavern was empty. "Pop-pop?" They sat up and listened until their ears ached, something was wrong. Frisk's heart started to pound, "Sans?!" They yelled, flinching at the sound of their own voice.

 _You called for help but nobody came._

Frisk shivered and rubbed their arms. It... it wasn't the sweater. Frisk looked down, it wasn't Asgores' purple sweater. It was the blue, second hand jumper with faded pinkish stripes, worn but warm; it wasn't torn, or muddy, or stained with their own blood.

Their head was pounding.

Frisk pushed themselves up and hurried out of the cave into the next room. Had they been left behind? Fallen asleep? The world felt wrong.

"Howdy!" A chipper voice said, "I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"

Frisk looked down at the small little golden flower with its innocuous, adorable face. Dread shot their their chest like a hot knife.

"Hee hee hee... Hmm... You're new to the Underground, arn'tcha?" he said, saccharine sweet.

They looked around frantically. Everything was wrong.

They felt their soul being torn out of their body, it made the world blur and sent a sharp stab of pain through their head. Flowey was talking about LOVE. Frisk didn't want any LOVE, they shook their head and tried to back away but Flowey had them trapped in combat, he didn't even give Frisk the chance to run. They reached for their cellphone but their pocket was empty.

Frisk covered their head with their hands, their whole body tensed in anticipation of pain, "I wanna go home!" they sobbed.

"You _idiot_." Flowey snapped, "In this world its kill or be killed."

 _Kill or be killed_

"Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?" The air sang as Flowey's thorns appeared all around Frisk, " _Die_."

Frisk held their breath, their heart pounding. The air became hot. They glanced up in time to see Flowey dart under the soil to avoid a fireball. The thorns around them dissolved into a thick mist of sour smelling magic.

"What a terrible cr-"

Frisk barreled into Toriel, clinging to her dress.

"Do not be afraid, my child." She knelt down beside them, "I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time." Her gentle hands brushed the tears from Frisks cheeks.

Frisk placed their hands atop of Toriel's.

Just a little while ago they had-and Toriel had been worried but they had just been annoyed. Why didn't they get a hug before they left? Why hadn't they stayed home? Frisk sniffled and tried to blink back tears. Why were they here again? Why was all this happening again? It was all a bad dream, it had to be. If only they could wake up.

"Poor thing." Toriel said softly, "Not to worry, I shall be at your side and guide you through the catacombs."

Frisk squeezed Toriel's hand and faked a smile.

Toriel smiled, "Come."

Frisk paused at the entrance, it seemed darker and scarier than Frisk remembered. Before they had been filled with hope and determination but that was gone. They ran up the stairs into the next room after Toriel.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one." Toriel said.

Frisk shivered and wrapped their arms around themselves and squeezed. They obediently listened to Toriel's explanations and in the next room, hurried to pull the switches she had marked.

"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one!" Toriel praised.

"I didn't _switch_ up." Frisk said softly.

Toriel blinked then giggled, quickly covering her hand with her mouth.

It was terrible, even for a bad pun, but Toriel had laughed; Frisk smiled.

Toriel led Frisk over to the dummy in the next room, "As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict."

Frisk tugged at the edge of their shirt and looked down at their shoes.

"Do you need some ideas for conversation topics? Well, I often start with a simple, 'how do you do.' Jokes can be useful for 'breaking the ice.' Listen to this one: What did the skeleton tile his roof with? ... _Shin_ -gles!"

Frisk grinned, Toriel was very fond of that joke, they had heard it more times than they could count. They took a deep breath and approached the dummy.

 _A cotton heart and a button eye. You are the apple of my eye._ Frisk had to stop themselves from looking around, the voice was something only they had ever heard, even if it sounded like someone was whispering to them from inside their own head.

"...Hello..." Frisk managed in a whisper.

Toriel waited for a moment to see if Frisk might say more then smiled happily and waved for Frisk to follow her into the next room. Frisk stared at the dummy for a moment then ran after her.

"Here, take my hand for a moment." Toriel said holding out her hand.

Frisk took it, they hadn't even realized that they had reached the spike puzzle. Her hand was so warm and she always kept one eye on Frisk to make sure they were ok.

"Puzzles seem a little dangerous for now." she said, leading Frisk to the long hallway. "Now, I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this."

Frisk watched closely as Toriel ran to the end of the room and ducked behind the pillar. They had been so scared the first time, certain something horrible was going to happen but it had been just Toriel being a silly. Frisk ran down the hall to the pillar and tugged on her dress.

"Oh! Thank you for trusting me, my child. This was a test of your independence. I must attend to some business and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself." She gave Frisk a cellphone before leaving, "Be good, alright?"

Frisk traced the edges of the old cellphone with their fingers. They always wondered why Toriel had left them here. It was too lonely in this long empty hallway. They walked to the next room.

Frisk jumped as the cellphone rang barely a step out of the room, "You have not left the room, have you? It would be too dangerous to solve the puzzles ahead by yourself."

"kay" Frisk said, trying not to feel guilty but there was no reason to wait, they knew the ruins like the back of their hand. Here at least, there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Be good, alright?" she said again before hanging up.

Frisk took a deep breath and kept going. The ruins felt so different than the last time they had been in them. There was rustling and movement everywhere. The ruins breathed. A Froggit hopped close and Frisk stepped away.

 _Life is difficult for this enemy._ A twinge of pain shot through their head,

- _They took a big stick and flipped the froggit on its back watching as it wiggled its little legs to right itself.-_ Frisk blinked and suddenly had to sit down as a wave of dizziness hit them. The froggit hopped close.

"You look nice today." Frisk said, managing a weak grin at the froggit's blush. "Let's not fight, k?"

The froggit stayed beside them while Frisk held their head and waited for the pain and dizziness to pass. "Tanks." Frisk said to the froggit as it hopped off.

Frisk pushed on. Their phone rang.

"Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular... which do you prefer, cinnamon or butterscotch?" she asked.

Frisk wondered if they should say cinnamon this time or maybe both; they had come to like them both equally.

"Wait..." she said, "Do not tell me, is it butterscotch?"

Frisk went still, "...yes." they said softly.

Toriel laughed, "Hee hee hee, I had a feeling. When humans fall down here, strangely... I... I often feel like I already know them."

Frisk gripped the phone so hard it hurt.

"Truthfully, when I first saw you, I felt... like I was seeing an old friend for the first time." She said, sadness permeating her voice.

"Me too..." Frisk said, eyes burning with tears.

"Strange, is it not? Well, thank you for your selection." She said and hung up.

Frisk wiped their eyes. Toriel had remembered, maybe only a little, but it made Frisk feel a little braver than before. A second later Toriel called back about the cinnamon and Frisk almost laughed. She was still Toriel and everything would be ok, just like it had been last time.

At the three rock button puzzle Frisk stopped at the last rock. The last time they had tried this had ended up being a little silly. Perhaps this time... Frisk took a deep breathe and another and asked, "C-could you please move on the button an s-stay there?"

"Well now," the rock said, "I suppose I could do that for you. It's quite a ways but I reckon I could manage."

The rock slid onto the button and the spikes popped down.

"Thank you!" Frisk said, fairly bursting with pride and ran to the next room. They paused at the table with the cheese, and spent a few minutes breaking off one corner and placing it in front of the mouses' hole. Things were the same and yet Frisk could do them another way, a better way. Frisk had to stop themselves from running straight in and trying to hug Napstablook.

They tiptoed into the room, smiling to themselves at the sight of Blook pretending to be asleep on the ground. Frisk walked over to the pile of leaves and lay down between Blook and the wall. The leaves were surprisingly comfortable and crinkled when they moved. Their arm touched Blook's side and Frisk felt them stiffen. Slowly, Blook relaxed again and shifted over slightly so Frisk had more room. The leaves crinkled with Frisks breathing. It felt very nice.

"i usually come the ruins because there's nobody around..." Blook said.

"A-am I bugging you?" Frisk asked.

Blook was silent for a long time, "why... are you...?"

"wanted to hang out wit you." Frisk said softly.

"heh."

The leaves rustled. Frisk felt themselves relax for the first time since the nightmare had begun.

"knock-knock." Frisk said.

Blook said, "...who's there?"

"boo." Frisk replied.

"...boo who?" Blook asked.

"if you're gonna cry then I'm not gonna say."

"heh heh" they laughed softly.

Frisk grinned.

 _This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor._

"Oh, I'm very funny." Blook said dourly.

Frisk sat up in the leaves, "You heard that?"

Blook looked nervous but nodded.

"No one-nobody's ever heard them before." Frisk sat back against the wall, "I thought I was imagining it..."

Blook sat up slowly, a few leaves slowly unstuck from their body and drifted onto the ground, "...i'm napstablook, but you can call me blook... if you like."

"Im' Frisk."

Frisk cell phone suddenly rang and they both jumped. They had barely tugged it out of their pocket when Toriel came hurrying into the room muttering to herself.

"...that took longer than I thought-" she heard Frisk cellphone ringing and stopped, "How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?" She looked icily at Blook, her whole body tensing up.

"M'fine!" Frisk blurted, "Blook's a friend."

Blook floated up, "i'll get out of your way. it was nice to meet you... frisk." they faded away.

Frisk waved as they disappeared

"I apologize," Toriel said, "I should not have left you alone so long but I see you made a friend so perhaps it turned out for the best."

Frisk stood up, shaking the leaves off their jumper.

"Come, small one." Toriel said holding out her hand.

Frisk nodded and took Toriel's hand. Her hand twitched. Frisk could hear her breath catch in her throat. She squeezed Frisk's hand gently. Was she happy or sad, or maybe both? Frisk squeezed her hand back as tightly as they could.

The inside of the cozy little house was bright and smelled sweetly of cinnamon and butterscotch pie. Frisk felt intensely happy and at the same time an aching sadness was lodged in their chest like a stone. They wanted to stay in that moment forever with the promise of pie and warmth and a soft hands in theirs.

(a/n: This story updates weekly! Thank you very much for reading!)


	3. Chapter 3

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.)

Chapter Three

-"I promise I will take good care of you here. I know we do not have much, but... we can have a good life here..." Toriel looked like she was about to cry.-

-What could they say? What words would ever ease the pain of seeing so many children leave, only to die?-

-"Why are you making this so difficult?!" she yelled, tears soaking into her fur.-

Frisk opened their eyes and dried them on their sleeve. They never wanted to hurt anyone.

They looked around, the room was strange... then they remembered; they were in the Ruins, not at home up on the surface. Was that the dream or was this...? They both felt terribly real and terribly impossible at the same time. If Frisk thought about it for too long, they felt the two realities pressing in on them like a wave trying to grind them into the sand. Frisk shook their head hard and patted their cheeks hard until they stung.

Toriel had cleaned the little child's room with care but it still felt like an empty shell. The bed was too hard and smelled musty. There was a plate with a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie on the floor. Frisk bounced off the bed and picked up the plate and taking a bite of the still warm pie. Their mouth filled with rich sweetness and they sighed happily.

They ran to the living room and sat the plate on the table, pulling themselves onto the small chair.

"Up already, I see?" Toriel said, glancing over the top of her book with a smile.

Frisk took another bite of pie and made an appreciative noise.

Toriel smiled and adjusted her glasses, "Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education." she hesitated for a moment, "This may come as a surprise to you...but I have always wanted to be a teacher. ...Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising." she narrowed her eyes, " STILL...I am glad to have you living here."

Frisk ate the last bite of pie and padded over to her chair.

"Oh, did you want something? What is it?" she asked.

Frisk pushed her arm up and pulled themselves up onto her lap, wriggling back into the fold of her shoulder. They could felt her warmth. She smelled of Butterscotch and fire magic.

"Did you want to hear about the book I am reading?" she asked; her voice small and quiet at first, she cleared her throat and continued, "It is called '72 Uses for Snails.'" The book was old, the corners softened from turning, the pages starting to yellow. She continued, " Here is an exciting snail fact. Did you know that snails... make terrible shoelaces?"

Frisk giggled.

"Interesting. Now that we know, we won't be tempted to try using snails as shoelaces." Toriel shifted slightly to turn the page and for a moment her arm pressed across Frisk. It was like a hug.

"yeah." Frisk agreed quietly.

They tried to listen as Toriel read more but couldn't focus. They had just woken up from their nap but Toriel's gentle voice made them feel so calm and safe. They closed their eyes and listened to her soothing cadence.

They felt, in a hazy half sleep, as Toriel carried them back to their room and tucked them into bed. Frisk remembered her gently smoothing their hair. There was no goodnight kiss on the forehead.

Frisk went back to their room while Toriel cleaned up. They wandered around the small room, absently touching things as they passed. The toy box was filled with a strange assortment of toys, some human-made castoffs, and others that looked like they had been made in the Underground, they were hand carved, painted and stitched. The monster toys felt more real somehow, as if they had a place in this world. Frisk's hands drifted away and they stood up.

 _Look at those cool toys! They don't interest you at all._

Frisk frowned at the voice and walked over to the bookshelf. They picked up the dusty picture frame and turned it over in their hands, laying face down back onto of the bookshelf. Their eyes were drawn to the child's drawing tacked to the wall. They pulled the tack out and looked at the drawing.

- _Their hand scribbled furiously with the broken piece of yellow crayon to finish filling in the last petal. "See! Look. This is what the flowers look like."-_

 _-"The ones that grew around your village?" a familiar voice asked.-_

 _-"Yeah, but more golden."-_

 _-He said, "Like buttercups?"-_

 _-"A thousand times better than stupid buttercups." they said impatiently.-_

Frisk shook their head and quickly put the drawing down on the top of the bookcase. They rubbed their eyes furiously, it had been like a memory but it was not their own, a memory belonging to someone else. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but it had never been so vivid.

Frisk went out into the hall and walked over to Toriel's room, touching the door as they passed, walking past the empty room that held the shadow of what was, to the mirror at the end of the hall. Frisk stood on the tips of their toes and looked at their reflection.

 _It's you!_

Frisk placed their hand on the mirror. They slid their hand over, so it covered their face and they could only see their hair and striped sweater in the reflection, and the image- they startled and ripped their hand off the mirror. For a moment they felt like they had been looking at someone else.

"My child, would like to bug-hunting?" Toriel called from out the entryway.

Frisk ran over to her nodding furiously, wanting to be anywhere but that house.

Toriel took them to a cave near where they had fallen, the cave opening had allowed insects and some scrubby plants to eke out a life. Frisk followed Toriel around the little tangle of weeds and plants and flowers. It was exciting at first but Frisk quickly got bored. They had found a good stick and used it to poke at the rocks and scrub tufts of vegetation that were considered bushes down here.

A whimsun who had been darting around erratically at the edges of the room approached meekly, twitching and muttering apologies.

 _This monster is too sensitive to fight._ The voice sighed.

The whimsun avoided eye contact, "I'm sorry." it muttered, "forgive me."

Frisk held very still. Nothing they ever said to whimsun's seemed to do anything but make them burst into tears and run away. They weren't sure what they should do...

 _Just raise your arms and wiggle your fingers._

Frisk hesitantly did as the voice suggested.

Whimsun freaked out, hyperventilating and shaking.

Frisk paled and shivered, "...sorry" they whispered, hurriedly backing away.

"Little one, are you alright?" Toriel as she stood up, brushing her hand off on the front of her smock. She spotted the whimsun and gave the little monster a dark glare causing it to flutter off like she'd burned it. "Did that monster hurt you?"

Frisk shook their head. They clenched their hands tightly, their fingernails cutting into their palm. It would be ok, they told themselves, it would be ok, it had to be ok.

"Shall we go home? I'll make dinner." Toriel said.

Frisk took her hand and squeezed it, leaning into her arm and pressing their face into the soft fur.

Dinner was snail pie. Frisk had to eat it with their eyes closed and tell themselves that it was a sort of mushy vegetable pie with weird gravy. It didn't taste bad, but they still couldn't look at it without feeling a little sick.

"How is it?" Toriel asked nervously.

Frisk thought for a moment, "It's very _snail_ verful."

Toriel laughed, "I'm glad."

Frisk took another bite of the pie and chewed it thoughtfully, "Can I..."

"Hmm?" Toriel asked.

"...Can I call you 'mom'?"

"Oh... well, I suppose, would that make you happy?" she asked in surprise.

"...would it make _you_ happy?" Frisk asked softly.

"If it makes you happy then I would be quite pleased to be called 'mother.'" Toriel said.

Frisk slumped and took another bite of snail pie with their eyes closed. They didn't want to hurt her. Why did they even ask? Why ask to call her mom if they just ended up leaving like last time. They wished they could stay forever but the dreams, the nightmares, were only getting worse with each night.

"We still have a little butterscotch-cinnamon pie left, would you like that for dessert?"

Frisk nodded.

The pie was sweet.

The nightmares were worse than ever but they stayed for a week in that small house filled with unspoken words; until they couldn't anymore.

-"You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself..."-

-The air suddenly felt dry and Frisk felt Toriel shove their soul into battle and begin summoning fire magic in the air around them. It was hot, the air tasted like ash. -

-The fire dried both their tears.-

-"Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."-

Frisk awoke with a start, sweat beading their forehead. Their heart was still pounding in their chest and the feeling of that moment lingered, a yawning, wailing sense of despair and betrayal.

Frisk couldn't stand anymore dreams. They were getting scarier.

They heard a noise and pressed their ear to the wall. Toriel was talking in her sleep, something about sugar. Frisk took a deep breath and slid off the bed, changed out of the pajamas Toriel had given them, and back into their regular clothes. They hesitated then folded the pajamas and slid them to the bottom of the small backpack Toriel had given them, much like their old one but blue and a very worn.

Frisk tiptoed over to the lamp and turned it on, pulling out a sheet of paper and a crayon from a drawer and sitting on the floor. The crayon hovered over the paper for a long time. They wrote:

I have to go but

I will come back.

I will be ok.

please do not be sad.

Love You

-Frisk

Frisk held the paper out at arms length and studied it, finally giving it a nod of approval. They carefully sat the paper in the middle of the bed, smoothing it in place.

 _The knowledge that this is the best way, filled you with determination._

Frisk jumped a little. It had been a long time since they had the determination to pin their place in the world. When they stepped back they could feel it, like a golden star. This was a good place for it. If everything didn't work out, they could always come back here and live with Toriel forever.

They pressed their mouth together in a tight thin line and turned the lamp back off. They tiptoed out of their room and heading to the stairs, hurrying down into the cool darkness before they lost their nerve.

Frisk trailed their hand along the wall as they walked, the dark stone cool and rough on their fingertips. They could feel the cold leaking from around the door long before they could make it out in the gloom. Frisk placed their palms on the door and for a second let their forehead come to rest on the cold stone, then they pushed and walked through. The door swung shut behind them with barely a whisper.

Frisk could see light in the distance but also a small patch of grass and a single golden flower. He watched them as they approached.

"Clever. Verrryyy clever. You think you're really smart, don't you?" Flowey sneered, "In this world it's kill or be killed."

 _...k_ _ill or be killed_...

"So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person. Hee hee hee..." He laughed condescendingly, "I bet you feel really great. You didn't kill anybody this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die-"

-Light cutting through them like glass.-

"-and you'll die"

-The air thick with thorns and fire.-

"-and you'll die."

-The pain overwhelming every sense until their soul shattered like a robin's egg-

Frisk gasped and shuddered, trying desperately to shake to memory from their mind.

Flowey grinned mercilessly, "Until you tire of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world... and let ME inherit the power to control it?" He cackled and slipped back beneath the ground like smoke.

Frisk wrapped their arms around themselves and squeezed; their whole body was shaking like a leaf. They leaned against a wall for a long time, listening to their wobbly breathing echo down the passage until it calmed and they could continue walking.

The trees outside were as tall as they remembered, disappearing into the darkness above, perhaps even reaching the cavern ceiling. Perhaps, these trees had evolved to feed on magic instead of light and had grown tall and hungry on the hundreds of years of magic soaked into this place.

It was beautiful.

Frisk took a deep breath and let it out in a white cloud.

They pressed their shoe into the dry snow and walked a few steps, looking behind them to see the crisp footprints. Frisk used the toe of their shoe to draw a smily face, and grinned back, then drew on a silly tongue sticking out and stuck their tongue out at the face. They kicked a snowpoff and it blew up in a cloud of cold crystals that clung to their skin.

Frisk giggled and jumped on another poff of snow, filling the air with white. They kicked up more snow and spun around in a circle, when they looked down at their shirt it sparkled like it was covered in tiny diamonds. A shiver of cold trickled down the back of their neck and they let out a little squeak of surprise and quickly tried to shake the snow out.

They shivered and rubbed their arms. The forest loomed but their air was filled with a soft diffused light reflecting off the snow that made everything glow like there was a small sun somewhere in the darkness above.

They were breathless and damp and smiling somehow, despite it all. They knew the path that lay ahead and they were looking forward meeting old friends for the first time, and to the puzzles.

(a/n: This story updates weekly! Thank you very much for reading!)


	4. Chapter 4

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.)

Chapter 4

Frisk tightened their grip on the straps of their bag, straining their ears as they walked. They had left a lot later than they had last time. Things might be different... Frisk stopped and looked down at their feet and wiggled the toes deeper into the snow. It would be... ok. It had to be.

They felt the hair stand up on the back of their neck as they walked further down the path. They stepped over a large black branch, every step past it their heart pounded a little louder. The branch cracked, loudly behind them. Very faintly Frisk could make out the sound of footsteps behind them. They stopped at the edge of the gate.

"Human."

Frisk jumped, startled despite knowing what would happen, and turned around. They took Sans' outstretched hand and squeezed so that they could let the grin escape back onto their face. They giggled with relief as the whoopee cushion farted and spluttered.

"heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick..." Sans cocked his head slightly, "wait a sec... have you heard it before or something? you turned around before i said to... weird." he smiled lazily, "...whatever. you're a human, right? i'm sans. sans the skeleton. i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But... y'know...i don't really care about capturing anybody." he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, "now my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC." he grinned, "hey, actually, i think that's him over there.," he pointed down the road. "i have an idea. go through this gate thingy." Sans spun them around, "yeah, go right through," his hand pressed against their back and gently pushed them along, "my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." the gentle pressure on their back continued all the way to the sentry station.

"quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp." He pointed to the strange purple lamp in the center of the clearing.

Frisk hurried behind the lamp and leaned into the shape. They could hear Papyrus storming closer, his boots crunching through the snow.

"sup, bro?" Sans asked.

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP' BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND STILL HAVEN'T... RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!" Papyrus demanded.

"staring at this lamp." he said cheekily, "it's really cool. do you want to look?"

Frisk had to bite their lip to keep from giggling. This had been so scary the first time but now, knowing Sans, this was just the sort of thing he would do all the time to make Papyrus nash his teeth.

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus stomped impatiently.

Frisk peeked around the lamp.

"WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus struck a cool pose, and the wind came up and blew his scarf out behind him as if to oblige. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS...WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT... RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO, BE MY, -FRIEND?- I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm...maybe this lamp will help you." Sans jerked a thumb towards the lamp.

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" He stomped the ground again, twice for good measure, "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

"hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today." he paused, "A _skele_ -ton."

Frisk pressed their hand over their mouth.

"SANS!"Papyrus yelled in frustration.

Sans said, "come on. you're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" He pressed his hand over his eyes and let it slide down his face with a sigh, "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME... HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself...down to the _bone_." Sans joked.

Frisk could hear the smirk.

"UGH!" Papyrus groaned, "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES...AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE," He paused, "- _BACKBONE_ \- INTO IT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" The snow crunched underfoot as he walked back down the path.

Frisk held their breath waiting for Papyrus to pop back for that last-

"HEH!" before running off to work on his puzzles.

"ok, you can come out now." Sans said.

Frisk sat down on the snow and took a deep breath, their stomach hurt from trying not to laugh.

"what's the holdup?" Sans said casually, " you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does...you'll have to sit through more of my hiillarioouus jokes. look, there's nothin to be afraid of." he spread his hands out in front of himself placatingly and grinned, "it's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters."

Frisk pushed themselves back onto their feet and brushed the snow off their butt. They patted their cheeks and felt energized by the burst of cold.

"actually, hey..." Sans said offhandedly, "hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately... he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day-"

Frisk raised their hand.

"err." he raised a brow, "yeah?"

Frisk cleared their throat and linked their hands behind their back, "Will it be a _skele_ ton of _skele_ fun?"

A slow grin crept onto Sans' face and he snrked, "...those are some pretty good _skele_ puns."

Frisk rocked on their feet slightly, "hee hee, I was trying to be _humerus_ , _tibia_ -honest."

" _ulna_ -less your telling a _fibulia_?"

"I would," Frisk paused, screwing up their face in concentration, "ne- _verteb_ araya."

"heh," Sans grinned, "a little awkward but you're pretty good, no _bones_ about it."

Frisk glowed at the praise, even though it was Sans who taught them most of the puns they knew, in a place under the sun, far away from here... Frisk turned and stared back towards the ruin door... but there was no going back was there?

"what's wrong, kid? you went quiet all of a sudden." Sans leaned forward slightly.

"I-" their breath hitched, "I... don't know..." their eyes suddenly ached with eyes with tears. Frisk shivered and hurriedly blinked them away.

"i'll, uh," Sans stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged his jacket higher on his shoulders, "i'll be up ahead... thanks a million." He walked back towards ruins door and disappeared.

Frisk took a deep breath and shook their head. "...it's ok." Frisk told themselves. They took another deep breath and headed down the path.

Icecap strutted into view. Frisk sighed and tried to duck behind a tree but Ice Cap was determined to start a fight and plucked Frisk's soul from their body and into battle.

 _This teen wonders why it isn't named 'Ice Hat.'_

Frisk wrinkled their brow. "...what?" They glanced at Ice Cap from the corner of their eye, _not_ looking at their hat. "Do you wonder why you weren't named 'Ice Hat'?" they asked.

"DUH! Who DOESN'T know?!"

I didn't, Frisk thought, their soul got nicked by one of Ice Cap's attacks and they flinched. Ice Cap made sure its hat was still there, Frisk continued ignoring it.

Ice Cap looked annoyed, "WHAT?! What are you doing?!"

Frisk focused on dodging successfully. They felt pleased.

"Better a HATTER than a HATER!" The Ice Cap said surlily.

Frisk spared them with a shake of their head, "It's ok tbe proud but you don't have to be mean too."

Ice Cap's face colored red, "Fine! I don't care!" they stomped off.

Frisk hurried down the path before they ran into any more surly teenagers. They couldn't help but smile when they heard Papyrus in the distance and hurried towards him.

"...SO AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..." Papyrus was telling Sans.

Frisk waved at them exuberantly with both hands.

Sans and Papyrus looked at Frisk then back at each other, then back again then at each other. Sans seemed to be having fun watching his brothers expression. Papyrus was so excited he spun himself in a circle.

Papyrus turned away from Frisk, grabbing Sans' shoulder and said, in what he probably thought was a whisper, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A HUMAN?! AND IT LOOKS SO FAMILIAR...!" They turned to look at Frisk again.

Frisk felt a shiver run down their spine. Pap hadn't forgotten them.

"uhhhh...i think it looks familiar... because it's a rock?" Sans said.

Frisk glanced behind them at the rock and gave Sans _a look_. He was wearing the cheekiest grin Frisk had ever seen.

"OH." Papyrus said chastened.

"hey, whats that in front of the rock?" Sans pointed to Frisk.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus 'whispered' to Sans, "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"yes." Sans stage whispered back.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!" Papyrus was bouncing with excitement, "UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" He pumped his fists into the air. He saw Frisk watching and stopped, clearing his throat, "... HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THE AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!" He posed dramatically, "I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL THEN BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN! ...I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE!" He pointed at Frisk, the wind whipping his scarf out behind him like a cartoon super hero, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus laughed as he triumphantly ran towards his first puzzle.

Frisk ran over to Sans.

"well, that went well." Sans said.

Frisk grinned, "SO cool." They put their hand on their hip and pointed dramatically at the rock, "Continue... Only if you dare!"

Sans beamed with pride, "heh, yeah. my bro is super cool."

Frisk smiled and blew on their hands to warm them.

"i'd better _ketchup_." Sans' winked, "i'll keep and eyesocket out for ya." he said as he walked down the road.

Frisk followed after him but Sans had already disappeared. They paused in front of the cardboard sentry station and read the card attached to the front. YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER... I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! (NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)

They patted the side of the box; it shifted slightly and some of the snow on top plopped too the ground. It was a little wet, a little warped but still pretty sturdy. Frisk wondered when Pap had built it, they peeked inside and saw that there was milk crate to sit on. They stood back and looked it over. It was pretty good, but... Frisk pulled the crayon stub out of their pocket. They narrowed their eyes in concentration and, very carefully, drew stars all over the front of the box. They stood back and nodded in satisfaction. Perfect.

Frisk spotted another sentry station as they came around the corner and remembered: Doggo! They ducked and crept underneath the sentry counter out of sight. Frisk reached up and knocked on the edge of the counter.

"Hello? Is anybody there...?" Doggo asked.

Frisk grinned and knocked again.

"Are you two playing a trick on me? Big guy? Is that you? Come on..." Doggo said.

Frisk pressed a hand over their mouth to keep from giggling.

"Well, it's not the tall skeleton... He's too loud."

Frisk knocked again.

"Whoever you are, knock it off!" Doggo snapped angrily.

Frisk bit their bottom lip guiltily, they hadn't meant to make him mad, and slowly stood up.

Doggo was looking back and forth furiously, "Did something move? Was it my Imagination? I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving... For example, a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" He reached out and pulled them into battle.

"Don't move an inch!" Doggo cried, sweeping their soul with a blue knife of magic.

Frisk frowned, how was Doggo supposed to find them if they didn't move?

 _Easily excited by movement. Hobbies include: squirrels._

Squirrels? Frisk had never seen a squirrel down here. They blinked in surprise as they felt something like a shrug in their head.

Doggo was looking around the area wildly, swinging his blades around the area. "Will it move this time?" He sniffed the air and ducked closer to Frisk.

Frisk pet the back of his head.

"WHAT!" Doggo froze up like a deer in headlights. "I'VE BEEN PET! PET! PAT! POT!"

Frisk scratched Doggo's head, his fur was thick and bristly.

"WHERE'S THAT COMING FROM!" His tail began to wag, "THERE'S NO END TO IT!"

Frisk scratched behind his ears and his leg twitched. They pet his face and neck and, gradually, Doggo relaxed and quit attacking, his tail swept back and forth lazily.

After a few minutes he said, "Ok, that's enough."

Frisk stopped, "I'm sorry for being mean, before." they waved one hand so that Doggo knew where they were.

Doggo narrowed his eyes, sniffed dismissively and went back to his station, "...Break time... I'm gonna need some dog treats." He rummaged around inside and picked up a box of treats, "'S ok, kid." he said over his shoulder as headed down the road towards Snowdin.

Frisk rubbed their hands together and pulled them inside their shirt sleeves. Snow crunched underfoot as they followed the path.

Sans was waiting around the corner. "hey, here's something important to remember." he told them, "my brother has a very _special attack_."

Frisk did their best to listen seriously.

"if you see a _blue attack,_ don't move and it won't hurt you. here's an easy way to keep it in mind. imagine a stop sign." Sans outlined the shape vaguely in the air with his fingers.

There was a big patch of smooth shiny ice right next to Sans. They couldn't stop staring at it.

"when you see a stop sign, you _stop_ , right?" Sans shifted his weight so he was leaning into their field of vision, "stop signs are _red._ so imagine a _blue_ stop sign instead. simple, right?" he prompted.

"Mm-hmm." Frisk said, stepping onto the ice and gliding across.

"kid?" Sans said raising one brow, "when fighting, think about _blue stop signs._ "

Frisk slid back across. They wobbled and stuck their arms out to catch their balance.

"you get that?" Sans asked.

"blue." Frisk said, "got it." they ran back to Sans and tugged on the sleeve of his jacket, "Slide with me!"

"eh, that's not really my thing..." Sans said reluctantly.

Frisk bounced excitedly, "Please!?"

He tried to step back, "i really-"

Frisk tugged on his jacket again, "Just once!"

"...i guess i co-"

Frisk took one hand and pulled him out onto the ice, they wobbled and tightened their grip. Sans pulled them back and grabbed Frisk's other hand causing them to swing across the ice in circles.

"i don't think this was a good idea!" Sans said.

Frisk laughed so hard they almost couldn't breath. Sans almost clipped the sign in the middle of the ice, Frisk pulled him away and fell back onto their butt. Sans tumbled onto his stomach and they both slid across the ice, poffing into the snow on the other side.

Frisk lay on their back giggling.

Sans slowly pushed himself up with a fwah! and sat next to Frisk in the snow. He couldn't stop a smile creeping onto his face, "that was... a disaster."

"I thought it was really _slick_." Frisk giggled.

"heh." Sans laughed, " _ice_ see what you did there." Sans brushed off the front of his jacket and stood up, "this is _snow_ joke, we're on _thin ice_ here." he gave them a cheeky wink and offered his hand, pulling Frisk to their feet.

Frisk smiled, "...thank you..." they said softly, "it was really fun."

"no problem, kid." Sans said, brushing the snow off Frisk's back. "i better get moving or papyrus is gonna come looking for me." He tucked his hands in his pockets, "i'll see you up ahead. And remember-"

"Blue stop signs!" Frisk said.

"heh," Sans grinned, "so you were listening."

Frisk nodded and waved as Sans walked away. They took their time brushing all the snow off their arms and legs so they wouldn't end up soggy. They slid a little more slowly back to the sign in the middle of the ice and read: North: Ice, South: Ice, West: Ice, East: Snowdin Town _...and ice._

"and ice!" Frisk echoed with a chuckle. They were still breathing heavily and their hands were cold but right then they felt warmth spread across their back and shoulders. It felt, almost like a hug.

(a/n: This fic updates weekly. I just want to thank everybody who's read this story! It makes me so happy to be able to share it with people. This chapter especially was so fun to write and I hope you all like it too. Frisk is getting more and more confident!)


	5. Chapter 5

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.)

Chapter 5

Frisk slid north and walked up to the snowman. "Hello."

"Hello." the snowman said seeming pleased, "I want to see the world... but I cannot move. If you would be so kind, traveller, please... Take a piece of me and bring it very far away."

Frisk nodded and put their bag down on the ground. They unzipped one of the front pockets and, their head swam and when they blinked,

-" _what did you call it?" the familiar voice asked.-_

 _\- "A snowman!" they said excitedly, fingers stinging with cold. -_

 _-"and they make these on the surface?"-_

 _-Frisk could see snow and hands like theirs but paler._ _T_ _hey packed snow into a ball with pink fingertips._ _-_

 _-"yeah!" they said, "During the winter it snows..."-_

 _-"Oh, right, you said there are seasons on the surface..."-_

 _-"You'll see!" they looked up and Frisk saw a green sweater striped with yellow and small hands covered with white fur, "And then we can make another snowman together-"-_

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Their hands were stinging with the memory of cold. They knew that face.

They took a handful of the snowman's snow, patting into a ball and nestling it in the pocket and leaving it open so the snowman could 'see'.

"Is that ok?" Frisk asked quietly.

"Yes, thank you!" The snowman said.

Frisk asked, "Will you melt?"

"I'm more than just snow!" The snowman said indignantly.

Frisk nodded, "Ok, well..."

"Good luck!" The snowman said cheerfully.

Frisk slid down and and got back on the path leading to Snowdin, following the sound of Papyrus' voice.

"REALLY THOUGH! THAT HUMAN! DO I KNOW THAT PERSON?" Papyrus asked.

They almost couldn't hear Sans response, "do you not know... who you know?"

"PBPBPPBPT! OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW!" Papyrus said confidently, "I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW... I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW! ...YOU KNOW?"

Frisk stopped in front of the electricity maze and waved at the brothers.

"OH-HO! SPEAK OF THE DEVIL!" Papyrus proclaimed, "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU... MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!"

Somehow Frisk had a hard time believing Sans helped make this puzzle, unless it was in the moral support department.

"I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE... QUITE SHOCKING!" Papyrus said.

Frisk giggled.

Papyrus' chest swelled with pride "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE... ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB" He held up the green, gem-like orb, "WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN?"

Frisk shook their head.

"BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK." He paused and cleared his throat awkwardly, "OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

Frisk glanced at Sans, he just nodded slightly, grinning like a fox in the hen house. Frisk sighed and stepped gingerly on the start of the maze.

SKZZERTTT! Papyrus shot up with the force of the zap, a fine ash coating his bones.

He stomped on the ground in frustration, "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"i think the human has to hold the orb." Sans said.

Papyrus shrugged, "OH, OKAY."

Frisk smiled, Papyrus really was the coolest.

He walked through the maze and tossed the orb into the air, "HOLD THIS PLEASE!" and ran back through the maze before it landed neatly on Frisk head.

"OKAY. TRY NOW!" He said excitedly.

Frisk stepped into the maze following Papyrus' footprints. Last time they had slipped so they knew if they went outside the boundaries- they stepped off to one side, and the orb buzzed lightly, making their scalp tingle. They shivered. Papyrus had probably used up all the orbs' power when he got zapped. They made a show of getting lost and bumping around the maze a few more times before following his footprints out.

"INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL! YOU SOLVED IT EASILY... TOO EASILY!" He narrowed his eyes, "HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS!" He said with a remarkable amount of confidence, "YOU WILL SURLEY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NHEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus slid backwards down the trial and out of sight.

"hey, thanks... my brother seems like he's having fun." Sans said.

Frisk nodded, taking the orb off their head and offering it to Sans. He took the orb, shrugged, and tossed it over his shoulder. Frisk could hear it 'tink' off the rocks as it bounced down the cliff.

"by the way did you see that weird outfit he's wearing?" Sans said, " we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since... keeps calling it his "battle body." man." his voice was full of pride, "isn't my brother cool?"

"Yup." Frisk said.

Sans nodded to them, "see ya around, kid." and slumped over the bridge to the next ridge top.

Frisk waved and crossed the bridge. They could see the snowball course and Sans already loitering near Dogamy and Dogaressa's sentry station.

"I don't understand why these aren't selling..." a depressed voice muttered, "It's the perfect weather for something cold..."

Frisk had forgotten that the Nice Cream Man was here! They trotted over and tapped the Nice Cream Man on the arm.

He noticed Frisk and instantly perked up, "OH! A CUSTOMER! Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!"

Frisk nodded, "One chocolate swirl, one mint-chip and one coffee n' cream, please." they said softly and placed fourty-five G in his hand.

He gave Frisk three nice cream bars wrapped in a pretty blue paper, "Here you go! Have a super-duper day!"

"Thank you." Frisk said politely.

They put the mint-chip bar in their bag and walked over to Sans.

"i've been think about selling treats too." Sans said, "want some fried snow? it's just 5G."

"Yes." Frisk said solemnly.

"did i say 5G? i meant 50G."

"Ok."

"really?" he raised his brows, "how about 5000G?"

"I'll take it!" they said.

"50000G. that's my final offer."

"I'll pay you back in a thousand years!" Frisk giggled.

"what? you don't have the money?" he said in mock shock, "hey, that's okay. i don't have any snow."

Frisk grinned and held out a nice cream bar.

"ice cream, eh? not really my thing." he waved it away.

They held it closer to him, "I got it just for you."

Sans shook his head, "thanks, I appreciate it but-"

"It's coffee n' cream." Frisk tapped it on his jacket.

He hesitated mid refusal, narrowed his eyes at them, then took the nice cream.

Frisk opened their nice cream and took a small bite.

"how'd you know i like this flavor?" Sans asked, biting off a big chunk.

Frisk shrugged. They looked at their wrapper and read, "You're super spiffy."

"i'm flattered." Sans said flatly.

Frisk made a face and bumped his shoulder, "What's yours say?"

Sans looked at the wrapper and held it out to Frisk.

Frisk took the wrapper and read; 'Love yourself! I love you!' They giggled, "Sweet-"

"geh!" Sans plucked the wrapper out of their hands and stuffed it in his pocket.

Frisk ate a little more of the nice cream and then carefully put it back in its wrapper.

Sans gave them a questioning look.

"I don't wanna get too cold." Frisk said.

Sans bit on his nice cream stick, wiggling it absently between his teeth, "you know, i just can't shake this feeling that you should be more... dunno, nervous about all this." he narrowed his eyes slightly, "you're trapped here underground, with a bunch of weird monsters who keep attacking you, even my brother who wouldn't hurt a fly, wants to capture you... but you act like a kid on a field trip or somethin..."

"That's..." Frisk thought for a moment, looking up at the black ceiling and then back at Sans, "...when the absolute worst thing happens to you that you could ever imagine and..." their voice went quiet, "you've lost everything and have to start all over again... I-" Frisk blinked and wiped their eyes with their sleeve.

Sans shifted uncomfortably, "you don't have to talk about it, kid."

Frisk shook their head and laced their fingers together in front of them. They had been scared to speak for so long, scared of their own voice, but what good had that done them? "I can't say I'm not sad or scared 'cause I am. Scared of losing everything again..." They looked down at their own intertwined fingers; they felt a nudge in their mind and _they_ gently squeezed Frisk's right hand. Frisk smiled, "...but it just makes the present that much more precious."

Sans shifted his weight from foot to foot and cleared his throat, "well, ...that's good," Sans said a little too hurriedly, "i-...i'd better..." He only took a few steps away before Frisk heard the moment of sucking silence that accompanied one of his shortcuts.

Frisk closed their eyes and squeezed back. It really felt like someone was right there, holding their hand, making them feel stronger and braver than they could be by themselves.

"it's gonna to be ok."

 _it's going to be ok._

Frisk nodded. Just one step at a time.

There was a 'paf' and something soft fell on their head. Frisk pulled it off and held it out. It was a orange jacket, a little old, a little faded but still warm. They looked around but didn't see anyone.

Frisk took off their backpack, putting the nice cream away, and slipped the jacket on. It smelled a musty and was a little big, they could easily pull their hands into the sleeves and it reached down to their knees. Frisk zipped it up and picked their bag back up and trotted along to the next area.

Papyrus and Sans were already waiting.

HUMAN! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..." Papyrus glared at the ground then at Sans, "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!"

"it's right there. on the ground." he nodded to the piece of paper sitting on the snow, "trust me. there's no way they can get past this one."

Frisk was prepared this time. They picked up the word search and fished the crayon stub out of their pocket. _The knowledge that you will solve-no- decimate! this wordsearch, fills you with determination!_ Frisk giggled.

They worked through each word. The big nonsense word was misspelled but they circled it anyway. They couldn't find 'summer' for the longest time so they skipped it in frustration and came back to it in the end. They felt the little nudge in their mind but they refused! They wanted to figure it out for themselves! Finally, they spotted 'summer' on a diagonal and circled it triumphantly. They walked over to Papyrus and handed him the completed sheet.

"SANS! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Papyrus' voice dripped with annoyance.

"whoops." Sans shrugged, "i knew i should have used today's crossword instead."

"WHAT!? CROSSWORD!?" Papyrus said in disbelief, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION...JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST."

"what? really, dude?" Sans raised an eyebrow, "that easy-peasy word scramble? that's for baby bones."

"UN. BE. LIEVABLE." Papyrus pointed at them, "HUMAN! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!"

 _Which is harder?_

"hmmmm..." Frisk pursed their lips. Crosswords were very hard, 'cause they didn't know a lot of the answers unless someone helped them. On the other hand making Papyrus happy was also very important. "Jumble." they said.

"HA! HA! YES!" he pumped his fist into the air, "HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT! IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT!" He paused in his celebration and narrowed his eyes at Frisk, "SANS, AM I MISTAKEN OR IS THE HUMAN WEARING MY OLD COAT?"

Sans shrugged, "well, bro, if the human froze to death you couldn't capture them."

"THAT'S TRUE! GOOD THINKING SANS!" Papyrus gave Sans a thumbs up and ran to his next puzzle.

"thanks for saying "junior jumble" just to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to "solve" the horoscope." Sans said as he moseyed after Papyrus.

"Thank you for the jacket." Frisk said.

Sans winked, "I said I'd keep and eyesocket out for ya, didn't I?"

Frisk followed after them, pausing by the table with a frozen plate of spaghetti on it. They sniffed it. It wasn't too bad for Papyrus' early work, the sauce contained mostly normal things. Their stomach gurgled and they pressed a hand to it. They hadn't eaten any breakfast and half a nice cream bar wasn't really enough food. They really wished that Papyrus had remembered to plug in the microwave.

They picked up the piece of paper on the ground beside the table. It read:HUMAN! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP... DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU! YOU'LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT...THAT YOU WON'T REALIZE THAT YOU AREN'T PROGRESSING! THOROUGHLY JAPPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH-HEH-HEH, PAPYRUS) Frisk grinned and folded the note up and put it in their pocket.

Frisk followed the path to a sign that said, warning: dog marriage. They furrowed their brow. _Yes, you read that correctly._ Frisk shook their head and walked over to the three trees. They brushed the snow away with their sleeve and found the switch that would drop the spikes ahead. After a long moment of deliberation they took their bag off and rolled around on the ground a few times. They resisted the urge to brush themselves off and grabbed their bag, walking down the path and across the narrow wooden bridge connecting the two ridge tops.

Dogamy and Dogaressa walked towards them, sniffing the air in front of them as they moved forward. They looked scary with their black cloaks and giant axes. Adult people sized dogs were kind of scary anyway even though they knew Dogamy and Dogaressa were really nice, but the couple didn't know Frisk was nice yet.

"What's that smell?" Dogamy asked.

"Where's that smell?" Dogaressa asked.

"If you're a smell..." Dogamy said. "... identify yoursmellf!" Dogaressa finished.

They circled Frisk sniffing them closely.

Dogamy said, "What! Smells like a..."

"Are you actually a little puppy?" Dogaressa asked suspiciously.

 _You smell like a_ weird _puppy._ They teased.

Frisk huffed.

 _Hey, come on, pet them._

They crossed their arms.

 _Pet them, you want to too!_

Frisk uncrossed their arms with a sigh.

Dogamy was sniffing Frisk's shoulder, they reached over and pet him.

"Wow! Pet by another pup!" Dogamy's tail began wagging rapidly under his cloak.

Dogaressa bent down next to Dogamy, "Well. Don't leave me out!"

Frisk reached out and pet both of them, especially behind the ears.

"Wow!" Dogaressa said, "A dog that pets other dogs... Amazing!"

Frisk grinned.

"Dogs can pet other dogs?" Dogamy asked.

"Yes." Frisk nodded.

"A new world has been opened up for us..." Dogaressa said as she stood up.

"Thanks, weird puppy!" Dogamy said excitedly.

They nuzzled noses and linked arms as they walked away.

It had worked. Frisk sighed with relief and brushed the snow and dirt off themselves as they crossed the next bridge. There was a easy two button puzzle ahead, Frisk stepped on the first button and walked around to jump on the other-

"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?"

Frisk nearly jumped out of their skin, somehow they hadn't notice the tall, loud, flashily dressed skeleton on the other side of the spike barrier.

"AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY...IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?" Papyrus asked.

 _What do you tell Papyrus about his spaghetti?_ They sounded, slightly...anxious?

"I-" Frisk twisted their hands together, "I wanted to eat it...together?"

"REALLY!?" Papyrus said happily.

Frisk nodded nervously.

"WOWIE..." Papyrus beamed, "YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA...JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME?" He lifted his chin up in a princely fashion, "FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS,... WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! NYHEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk relaxed and smiled. They quickly hit the second button and pressed the switch, lowering the spikes, and ran over to Papyrus.

"MY BROTHER STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION RECENTLY." Papyrus narrowed his eyes. "HOW SADDENING..."

Frisk took their backpack off and unzipped it.

Papyrus continued, "SOMETIMES I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO...WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM? NYEH HEH-!"

They held up the nice cream bar.

"-HEH? FOR ME?"

Frisk nodded, "Mint chip!"

"OH-!" Papyrus carefully took the nice cream bar, "THAT'S MY FAVORITE!"

They pulled out the other half of their chocolate swirl and unwrapped it, eating a little too fast. They braced themselves for the sting in their head from the ice cream headache but at least they felt less hungry.

"WHAT'S YOUR WRAPPER SAY?" Papyrus said excitedly, his nice cream seemed to be already gone.

"You're super spiffy!" Frisk said, "What's yours say?"

Papyrus cocked his head to one side slightly, "HMM... IT SEEMS TO BE AN ILLUSTRATION OF A HUG."

"An illustration of a hug?" Frisk repeated, stepping closer to get a better look.

 _illustration means pict-_

"IT'S LIKE THIS!" Papyrus bent down and picked them up, engulfing them in a hug and spinning them around. It was just like he used to.

He set them back down with a puzzled expression on his face. "THAT FELT STRANGELY FAMILIAR..." He looked back down at Frisk and stuttered in shock, "ARE YOU OK?! YOU'RE CRYING!"

Frisk sniffed and wiped their eyes, they hadn't even realized they were crying, "it's ok..." they mumbled, "i'm happy. really, really happy..."

Papyrus narrowed his eyes, "I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN YOU DON'T CRY WHEN YOU'RE HAPPY..."

Frisk laughed, most of the tears had stopped, "It doesn't happen very often but I've seen it before!" At the end when the barrier was broken, there were many, many happy tears. "I really am happy."

"WELL, IF A HUG IS ALL IT TAKES, I'M THINKING YOU HAVE A SERIOUS DEFICIT OF HUGS." Papyrus said seriously, "MY BROTHER ALSO OFTEN DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH HUGS! I WORK VERY HARD TO MAKE SURE HE HAS ENOUGH. HE GET UNNECESSARY COMPLAINY ABOUT IT SOMETIMES THOUGH. SUCH AN UNGRATEFUL BROTHER!"

"can I come get more hugs if I get low?" Frisk asked.

"OF COURSE! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said, "YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

(a/n: This story updates weekly. Thank you for all the support and the reading and reviews, it means a lot to me. Feel free to review, comment, or ask questions, it takes me a while to get to them but I try.)


	6. Chapter 6

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.)

Chapter 6

Frisk looked over at the next puzzle, Papyrus shifted nervously, "HUMAN! HMMM...HOW DO I SAY THIS...YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO... I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE." He rubbed the back of his head, "UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT!" He sighed, "AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND. I SUPPOSE WHAT I'M SAYING IS...WORRY NOT HUMAN!" He posed dramatically "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED! MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I'LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!"

Frisk walked around the puzzle, they pressed a few of the buttons and reset the puzzle. They knew the how to solve it, probably, it hadn't taken too many tries last time but that was no fun. Frisk walked back to Papyrus.

"SO, YOU WANT A HINT, HUH?" He rubbed his chin, "WELL... I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PUZZLE...AND I THINK THE SOLUTION...IS TO TURN ALL THE X'S INTO O'S! YOU SHOULD TRY THAT!"

"Can I have another hint?" Frisk asked out of curiosity.

Papyrus put his hands on his hips, sweat beaded on his forehead, "MAYBE SOLVING THE LAST PUZZLE AGAIN WILL HELP. ASK AGAIN FOR MORE GREAT HINTS!"

Frisk giggled. "More!"

Papyrus eyes shifted back and forth nervously and cleared his throat, "EUREKA! I'VE FIGURED OUT THE PUZZLE!" He held up a finger, "YOU SEEM LIKE YOU'RE HAVING FUN, THOUGH... DO YOU ABSOLUTLEY, DAPSOLUTLEY WANT THE SOLUTION?"

 _Do you absolutely, dapsolutley want the answer?_

Frisk choked down a laugh and shook their head rapidly.

"WOW... YOU'RE TRULY A PUZZLE PASSIONEER!" Papyrus said excitedly, "I'M SO ENTHUSED BY YOUR ENTHUSIASM! YOU CAN DO IT HUMAN!" He gave them a thumbs up.

Frisk took deep breath.

 _Absolutely dapsolutly,_ they whispered.

Frisk snorted and clapped their hands over their mouth.

"HUMAN-?"

"s-sorry!" Frisk giggled, "but 'absolutely-dapsolutly' j-just!"

"I SEEM TO HAVE TICKLED YOUR _FUNNY BONE_?" He said, pleased with himself.

Frisk laughed, grabbing onto Papyrus's hand to keep from falling over. His thick red gloves gripped them tight.

"That was funny." Frisk said once they managed to stop laughing.

Papyrus said, "IT WAS, WASN'T IT?"

Frisk nodded.

"ERR," he hesitated, " PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BEST IF YOU DIDN'T TELL MY BROTHER THOUGH."

"Do you hate puns?" Frisk asked.

"THE PROBLEM WITH PUNS, IS THEY ARE NOT COOL!" Papyrus narrowed his eyes, "THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST STRIVE TO BE COOL IN ALL THINGS!"

"But you're always cool Papyrus." Frisk said.

"OH-" Papyrus cheeks took on a blueish, "WELL, O-OF COURSE I AM!"

Frisk squeezed his hand, "Can we do this puzzle together?"

"TOGETHER? YOU DO NOT WISH TO SOLVE IT YOURSELF?" He asked.

Frisk bounced on their toes, "But doing it together would be fun!"

"DOING PUZZLES WITH SOMEONE?" Papyrus seemed bewildered by the idea.

Frisk tugged him over to the puzzle, "Should we start on different sides and meet in the middle?"

Papyrus shook his head, "IF WE START ON OPPOSITE SIDES IT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF THE PUZZLE!" He held his chin thoughtfully, "HOWEVER, IF WE START TOGETHER THEN WE WILL END UP PRESSING THE BUTTONS TWICE WHICH WOULDN'T WORK EITHER. HMMM..."

Frisk waited patiently while Papyrus was thinking.

He looked down at Frisk and his eyes lit up, "I'VE GOT IT! NYEH HEH HEH!" He bent down and picked Frisk up and placed them onto his shoulders. "HOLD ON TIGHT!"

"Yes!" Frisk said breathlessly gripping tight to his scarf, "You're so tall! I can see everything!"

"ANOTHER BRILLIANT IDEA BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NOW!" He pointed at the puzzle, "LEAD THE WAY HUMAN! I SHALL PROVIDE ADVICE AS NEEDED!"

Frisk pointed the way through the maze. They had to reset three times, once because they messed up, and twice because of excessive exuberance. When all the X's had been turned into O's, Papyrus carried them over to the switch and set them down on it, dropping the spikes with a 'shunk'.

"WOW! YOU SOLVED IT!" He beamed with pride, "MY ADVICE HELPED! IT REALLY HELPED YOU! INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED!"

Frisk glowed at all the praise.

Papyrus said, "YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO!"

Frisk nodded and grabbed Papyrus' hand again.

His large hand wrapped around Frisk's small one very gently, "WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN!" He said as they walked towards the next area. "IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU! WAIT HERE!" he let go of their hand at the top of the puzzle grid and ran to the other side excitedly, "YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! "

Sans was already waiting on the other side of the grid. He glanced from Papyrus to Frisk and gave them a questioning look.

"IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES!?" He swept an arm towards the grid, "ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH...THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!" He took a deep breath and then launched into the explanation at breakneck speed, "RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM...YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THOUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT...IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A, YELLOW TILE THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER THE SLIPPERY SOAP...SMELLS LIKE LEMONS! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OK! FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE." He took a deep breath, "HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND?

 _Do_ you _understand that explanation?_

"...not really." Frisk said honestly. They had been too bewildered to even answer last time.

"OKAY... I GUESS I'LL REPEAT MYSELF..." he said reluctantly and started again, speaking even faster than before, "RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE. YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC AND DANGEROUS. BLUE TILES MAKE YOU FIGHT A MONSTER. GREEN TILES ARE WATER TILES. ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE SCENTED. IF YOU STEP ON ORANGE, DON'T STEP ON GREEN. BROWN TILES ARE...WAIT!" He froze and shook his head, "THERE ARE NO BROWN TILES...PURPLE TILES SMELL LIKE LEMONS. WHY DON'T THE YELLOW ONES SMELL LEMONY?"

Frisk shrugged.

"UMM...WAIT! DID I MESS UP GREEN AND BLUE!?" He pulled out a sheet of paper and squinted at it, "THE BLUE ONES ARE WATER ONES! PINK TILES...I DON'T... REMEMBER? WAIT! THOSE ONES DON'T DO ANYTHING. OKAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND BETTER NOW!?"

 _Even less._

Frisk agreed, "Even less."

Papyrus narrowed his eyes and skimmed over the instructions again in frustration, "…...OK, YOU KNOW WHAT?" he sighed, "HOW ABOUT... YOU JUST... DO THIS PUZZLE... ON YOU OWN... I'LL LEAVE THE INSTRUCTIONS... JUST READ THEM. THEN WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND IT... YOU CAN THROW THE SWITCH. AND DO IT AT YOUR OWN PACE. GOOD LUCK. NYEH... HEH... HEH!" He dropped the paper on the ground and walked off, a little slower than normal.

Frisk wondered if maybe it would've been better to let him activate the machine even though it would break. They glanced at the paper on the ground, it was in Alphy's chicken scratch handwriting. Frisk was impressed Papyrus could read as much as he had.

They stared at the machine for a long time, it looked uncannily familiar.

 _What came first the Mettaton or the machine?_

"actually, the spaghetti from earlier..." sans said from behind them, "it wasn't too bad for my brother. since he started cooking lessons, he's improving a lot."

They turned away from the machine and walked back to Sans.

Sans said, "i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible."

Frisk frowned very slightly at Sans.

"i'm just teasin'" Sans mussed their hair, "you're a good kid."

Frisk straightened their hair with their fingers and scowled at Sans.

A wicked grin crept onto his face and clapped both his hands on their head, rumpling their hair.

"Don't!" Frisk giggled trying to swat Sans' hands away.

"not a chance." he chuckled as he spun their hair into a rats nest.

Frisk grabbed the bottom of Sans jacket and ducked under it, slipping under his arm and out the other side and hugged him from behind, "Stealth hug!"

"sneaky." he grinned. "but you'll never get the _squeeze_ on me that way." he sort of, sidestepped- shifted like fog, and Frisk was holding empty empty air. They paffed down in the snow. Sans winked, and in between a blink he was gone leaving only the sucking space where he had been.

Frisk stood up and absently straightening their hair. They knew about Sans' shortcuts but the other move was something they had never seen before. Frisk wished they could dodge like that. They carefully untangled their hair as they walked, frowning at the random little snarls that caught and pulled. The path opened into a empty field of snow, except for a guard station. Frisk looked around in confusion, there was supposed to be something here, they were certain of it.

 _You haven't seen Lesser dog yet._

That was it. Frisk went over to the guard station and looked inside there was only a box of raisins on the ground.

- _Pomeraisins_ They suggested.

Frisk smiled.

Snow crunched under paws behind them, as Frisk turned and Lesser dog was right in front of them, tail wagging madly.

 _Wields a stone dogger made of pomer-granite. They_ giggled. Frisk could feel their excitement.

Frisk dropped their backpack and pulled the stick from the side pocket, waving it in the air.

Lesser dog barked excitedly and spun in a circle.

They threw the stick across the field, Lesser dog dropped its weapons and was off like a shot, returning with the stick before Frisk could even take a breath. They threw the stick over and over again. Once Lesser dog grew tired of that game they played keep away, running in circles around the guard house. Frisk stopped to catch their breath and Lesser dog pressed against them. Frisk ran their hands through the dog's white fur. Lesser dog's neck stretching across the snow as they slid their fingers through the soft fur. Frisk lost track of how long they pet them.

 _It's possible that you may have a problem._

Frisk buried their face in Lesser dog's neck and closed their eyes. Lesser dog was half asleep, its tail sweeping lazily back and forth across the ground. They wanted to sleep too, for seven months, two weeks and four days. Then, maybe, when they woke up, it would all be like they left it.

 _It'll be ok, Frisk._

Frisk pulled their face out of Lesser dog's fur. It seemed like forever since someone had said their name. It felt good...they felt more real.

They smoothed the fur on Lesser dogs neck and smiled, "You're a good dog."

Lesser dog whined slightly and bumped Frisk's hand gently. Frisk pet them one last time and looked around for their stick but couldn't find it. They left it for Lesser dog to play with later.

The next puzzle was another button puzzle but on slippery ice. They like this one, the way it spiraled to the center was very soothing somehow.

They stepped wrong after the third button and slid off at a weird angle. They tumbled down the ledge, with their heart racing and stomach in their throat, into the soft snow below. Frisk sat up with a gasp. The snow had cushioned most of the fall but that didn't make it any less scary. Their hands were shaking in time with their heart. They glanced around the small area and spotted two shapes in the snow.

Papyrus and Sans had made little snow sculptures. Papyrus' was very good, it looked very much like him. Sans had made a snow lump and written 'sans' on it in red marker. Frisk absently made a smaller snow lump beside Sans' and used their fingertip to write 'Frisk' in the snow. By the time they finished their hands had stopped shaking and were just stingingly cold. They pulled them inside the sleeves of the jacket and hiked back up to the top of the puzzle.

This time they went slower and made sure to slide in perfectly straight lines. Frisk jumped on the button to finish the puzzle and the spikes dropped with a snick. They slid along to the thin path of ice through a black patch of trees; holding their breath as they slid into the darkness. A lump of snow fell on their head as they exited.

 _It's a little bird! The snow looks like a little bird!_

"really?" Frisk asked.

 _Yeah! Do it again! Do it again!_ They said excitedly.

Frisk hesitated for a moment then slid back the other way. They braced for the plop of snow as they slid back into the light.

 _It looks like a hat! A dapper blook hat!_ They said.

Frisk giggled and slid back through.

 _This time it's a house! It's got windows and everything!_

They slid again.

 _aww, its just a lump..._

"Maybe that's it?" they asked as they brushed the snow off. Their head was getting cold.

They agreed reluctantly, ...yeah...

Frisk slid back to the other side, fump, and shivered as a drop of snow slid down the back of their neck.

 _...it's a snow dog..._ they said in awe.

"hee hee!" Frisk giggled as the snow collapsed and slumped off their head.

 _It was beautiful!_ they protested.

Frisk laughed harder, wrapping their arms around themselves and squeezing.

 _Well maybe not beautiful, but it_ was _really cute!_

Frisk nodded as they tried to get their breath back.

 _They_ felt annoyed.

"Eep!" Frisk jumped as a shivery tingle ran down their back, like a cold finger down their spine, "Chara!"

Chara stopped suddenly like an intake of breath and for the space of a heart beat they both held still.

 _You... know who I am?_ They asked.

Frisk said hesitantly, "is it- is that right?"

 _...Yes..._ Chara said almost reluctantly, _I'm... I'm Chara._

"I thought it must be you." Frisk said, "Before, Flowey always called me by your name. It was weird until I saw the tapes in the lab basement..."

They both shuddered.

"...then it made more sense." Frisk said.

 _I just, I don't understand, why you can hear me...now? Why now?_ They asked.

Frisk eyes flicked back and forth as they searched their memories. "I was... scared... really scared. It's hard to remember clearly..."

 _You don't have to-_

"I just didn't want to get hurt anymore and I thought the sooner I left the sooner it would all stop." they continued, "somewhere it changed and I wanted to help everyone even if it hurt..." They paused, grabbed the edge of their coat and fidgeting with it absently, "All the helpful things you told me, and the funny things and the silly things, they helped... a lot. There were times I woulda just hid and cried but I didn't feel lost because of you..."

 _You responded to what I said but you never spoke to me, before now._ Chara said.

"I don't know..." Frisk said miserably, "I couldn't have known all those things but it didn't feel like someone else. It felt like my own voice even though it couldna' been."

 _I understand._ Chara said placatingly, _You went through the underground in just a day or two last time, no sleep, nor rest except a few minutes here or there. You had so much determination to get out, it drove you like a whip. Once you were outside the barrier you passed out and slept for four days. I... everyone was worried. And I... I helped only when called upon. I never tried to... reach you._

"...I forgot you..." Frisk said upset, pressing their hand hard over their heart.

 _Up on the surface,_ Chara said, y _ou were starting a new life and helping Monsterkind, how could you remember someone you didn't know existed?_

"but you helped me..." Frisk sniffed.

 _The only thing remembering me would've helped with was making the nightmares and flashbacks worse._ Chara said flatly.

Frisk squeezed their hands tight, their fingernails digging into their palms.

 _The memories and dreams were really bad, but you wouldn't tell anyone... I wish I had-_ Chara stopped mid sentence and hesitated, then tried again, _maybe, it would've been better if I had_ tried _...so you knew you weren't alone._

Frisk wiped their eyes, "Thank you for helping me."

 _...Don't thank me..._ Chara said softly.

"An' I'm sorry I forgot you." Frisk said.

 _Cut it out._

Frisk frowned, "But I mean it!"

 _Yes, yes._ Chara said, _You're the magical unicorn of love and kindness, I know. Someone could step on your foot and you'd be the one to apologize._

 _"_ Would not." Frisk said annoyed.

 _Says the kid that let the whole Underground use them for target practice and still helped set them free._ Chara said dismissively.

Frisk frowned, glaring at someone who couldn't be glared at.

Chara said, _The more interesting question, is how I ended up attached to you anyway. I died about a hundred years ago and six brats fell before you did. Even the first time through I thought it must be some sort of messed up joke. Prophecies and fate, I don't believe in any of that garbage..._ They grumbled.

Frisk giggled and smiled tiredly. They felt wobbly, like their head was too heavy.

 _Are you ok?_ Chara asked in alarm.

"...jus tired and hungry." they took a deep breath, " 'n cold..."

 _Snowdin isn't far. We can avoid most of the monsters. Just a little further, Frisk._ Chara said encouragingly.

" 'k." Frisk nodded, and stepped forward.

(a/n: This story updates weekly.

Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you liked it. I really appreciate feedback, if you have any, it make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.)


	7. Chapter 7

(a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.)

Chapter 7

 _Behold! A snow poff!_ Chara said dramatically.

Frisk blinked and looked around them, the field was filled with snowy bumps. They pointed at another bump.

 _Surprisingly, it's a snow poff._ Chara said flatly.

Frisk pointed at a different poff.

They continued, _This, however, is a snow poff._

Frisk smiled.

 _Is it really a snow poff?_ Chara asked with exaggerated confusion, ... _It's a snow poff._

"heh..."

 _What's this called...?_ Chara said as they walked past another poff. _Ah, ...it's a snow poff._

Frisk giggled softly.

The snow poff in front of them shuddered and a little white dog face popped out.

 _Oh, poop... Greater Dog_

Frisk's face fell.

Greater dog stood up, their armor loomed over Frisk, watching their every move intently.

Frisk just stared up at them.

 _You're really tired, huh?_ Chara asked.

Frisk nodded.

 _I could do it, if you want._ Chara offered.

Frisk blinked, their face twisting in confusion, "You can?"

Chara said, _I think I can take control of your body if you let me. I wouldn't do it without permission._

They hesitated briefly then nodded, "...hokay."

Chara gently took control of Frisk's body, beckoning Greater Dog. " _Come here."_

Greater Dog bounded over, flecking slobber all over their jacket. Greater bounced against them, bumping and causing them to fall down and crawled into their lap. Chara smiled and ran their fingers through the dogs fur.

" _God, you're exhausted._ " Chara said, scratching where Greater Dog's armor chafed. They let out a happy little grumble and leaned into the scratch, " _This is like living in a wet sack of potatoes._ "

uhuh. Frisk said.

Greater Dog popped up and bounced around in a circle, tapping their hands on the ground in an invitation to play.

Chara leaned forward and used the sleeves of their jacket to scoop up some snow and patted into a snowball and threw it into the snow poff field, Greater Dog galloped after it.

" _Are you doing ok, Frisk?_ " Chara asked.

It feels weird, Frisk shifted uncomfortably, like I'm just along for the ride...

Greater Dog ran back over, dumping an armful of snow beside them. " _Good dog! You're such a good dog, Greater Dog!"_ Chara praised them happily. Greater Dog dropped their head on their lap, panting. Chara smiled and scratched Greaters head. " _I got used to it. Better than feeling nothing._ "

Greater Dog sighed and crawled up so that its head pressed into their stomach.

" _I've missed this though, dogs are the best!_ " Chara played with their ears.

Greater 'uff'ed and flopped over onto their back, tongue lolling out of their mouth. They pet Greater Dog for a little while long then reluctantly shifted it off their lap, " _We should get going._ " Chara stood up and tried to brush all the white fur off their legs, " _You ok to take over?_ "

Frisk braced themselves and let their mind snap back into control. They were so tired. Greater Dog cocked their head to one side, then the other, they gave Frisk a quick lick on the chin and trotted off.

They were infinitely grateful that there was a railing on this bridge so they could cling onto it. A cold wind whipped across them as they walked. Frisk could just make out Papyrus and Sans standing on the other side.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus pointed at them, "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" He spread his hands wide as traps appeared on all sides. A spear and a cannon and a flamethrower and a dog and a mace and another spear...

Frisk found themselves captivated by the dog gently swaying on its rope.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!" Papyrus said excitedly, "ARE YOU READY!?"

Frisk looked at him blankly and rubbed their eyes, suppressing a yawn as best they could.

"BECAUSE-!" Papyrus seemed conflicted, his triumphant expression, was stiff and forced, "I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!" There was a long pause.

The dog twirled on its rope.

"well? what's the holdup?" Sans asked.

Papyrus turned away from them. "HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!?" His voice had a distressed edge to it, "I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!"

Both skeletons turned back to face Frisk.

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated." Sans said.

"WELL!" Papyrus was wringing his gloves, "THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS... MAYBE... TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH." He nodded to himself, "YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!" He clapped his hands and the traps descended back into the pit from whence they came.

He turned away and left out a huge sigh of relief, "PHEW!" turning back and stuttering, "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!" He backed away, his laugh faulting as he went, "NYEH! HEH! … HEH?"

"i don't know what my brother's going to do now." Sans said as Frisk walked off the bridge, "if i were you, i would make sure i understand blue attacks."

Frisk nodded absently.

Sans asked, "didn't you have a stick before?"

"i lost it." Frisk said.

Sans characteristic smile dimmed slightly, "do you have anything to protect yourself with?"

Frisk shook their head, "not gonna fight."

"that's a beautiful sentiment, kiddo," Sans said, "but it's not realistic."

Frisk glared at Sans and stuck out their tongue, stomping into Snowdin.

 _Frisk! We should've asked him for help!_ Chara chided.

"No." Frisk sulked.

Chara groaned, _Frisk, we don't have enough money for food or a hotel 'cause we were avoiding monsters. We needed his help..._

Frisk shook their head, shoving their hands into their pockets and hunching into the jacket. They couldn't eat any of the food at the store anyway; just the thought of it made them feel anxious and sick. And the hotel was unheated and full of snoring. Frisk took the tunnel under the town and popped out the other side and headed into the mist.

Papyrus stood in the middle of the mist, hands on hips and a serious expression on his face, "HUMAN." He said solemnly, "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE...HUMAN?"

Frisk kept walking, brow furrowed.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING HUMAN?!" Papyrus crouched and held out an arm to block Frisk's path, "I MUST CAPTURE YOU! YOU CAN'T LEAVE!"

Frisk pushed Papyrus' arm up and ducked under.

He blinked in surprise then swung around, hooking an arm around their waist and picking them up like a bag of flour. Frisk tried to wriggle free with no success. They groaned in frustration.

"YOU'RE TOO WEAK! I WAS EASILY ABLE TO CAPTURE YOU!" He marched back into town, "I WILL NOW SEND YOU TO THE CAPTURE ZONE! OR, AS SANS CALLS IT... OUR GARAGE?" he opened the shed door and carried Frisk inside, there was a set of too wide bars, a bowl of dog food, a squeaky bone and a dog bed, "YOU'RE IN THE DOGHOUSE NOW!" He plopped them down on the tiny dog bed, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" The door clicked closed behind Papyrus.

 _I'm not sure what your plan was but I don't think it succeeded._

"...didn't have one."

 _In that case, it worked out perfectly._

Frisk huffed and picked up the rubber bone, throwing it against the wall as hard as they could, it bounced off with squeak.

 _It's too cold to stay in_ here. Chara said, _You can at least go to Grillby's, rest and warm up. Maybe we can think of a different plan._

They nodded and slipped out of the shed. They glanced around but Papyrus was nowhere in sight. Frisk walked over to Grillby's and shouldered their way through the door. The familiar smell of grease and smoke washed over Frisk and they felt themselves begin to relax. They went over to the royal guard dogs and waved hello.

They went over to Doggo, "Pit, pat." They said reaching one hand up hopefully and waving it slightly so Doggo could see it.

Doggo narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Then lowered his head.

Frisk scratched behind Doggo's ears.

"I'm thinking of getting a spiked collar to show off my personality." Doggo said sedately. "It makes a statement like..." He swept a hand in front of him, "Attach a leash to me and take me for a walk please."

Frisk nodded and gave Doggo a thumbs up. They went around to the other guard dogs and petted them and listened to them far longer than they normally did, happy to have a distraction.

Frisk pulled themselves onto the shortest barstool and rested their chin on the worn wooden counter. They wrapped their arms around their head and let their eyes close. The lively chatter of the bar and gentle warmth given off by Grillby lulled them into a light doze.

A basket of fries scraped across the counter. Frisk jerked awake and rubbed their eyes. Grillby pushed the fries in front of them and nodded towards the guards table.

"Thank you!" Frisk told the guard dogs over their should with a tired smile.

They unzipped their jacket and picked up a fry and bit into it. It was really hot and crispy. A few tears ran down Frisks' cheeks, they quickly wiped them off with their sleeve and tried to blink the rest away. They didn't even know why they were crying. They ate a lot faster than they probably should have, but that was the nice thing about monster food, they never got a tummy ache from over eating.

The door to Grillby's slammed open, "HELLO! IS MY BROTHER SANS HERE?! I HAVE LOST TRACK OF THE HUMAN!" Papyrus' voice seemed to fill the small room.

Frisk jumped, along with everyone else in the bar.

Papyrus pointed at Frisk, "THE HUMAN!"

"Close the door." Dogamy chided, "I came in here to get warm not freeze my tail off."

"OH, YES, SORRY ABOUT THAT." Papyrus quickly closed the door, rubbing his skull sheepishly. "WHAT WAS I-?" He looked around confused then spotted Frisk again, "AH! THE HUMAN!"

"Can't you leave the kid alone?" Doggo asked.

"They're just a young pup." Dogaressa said.

"WE HAVE STRICT ORDERS TO CAPTURE ALL HUMANS THAT PASS THROUGH HERE!" Papyrus said affronted that Doggo would ever suggest such a thing.

Doggo persisted, "We all got bones buried we'd rather forget."

"BURY THEM?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? I KEEP MINE UNDER THE SINK. NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk ate another french fry.

"HUMAN, I STILL HAVE TO CAPTURE YOU!" Papyrus declared.

Frisk swiveled on the stool to face him. "Frisk."

He continued undaunted, "YOU MAY HAVE CLEVERLY ESCAPED FROM JAIL BEFORE..."

"My name is Frisk, not Human." Frisk said a little louder.

Papyrus said loftily, "BUT HUMAN IS-"

"FRISK!" They yelled, tears slipping down their cheeks.

The room was strangely quiet aside from the crackle of Grillby's flame. Someone growled quietly.

"THESE... ARE NOT HAPPY TEARS ARE THEY?" Papyrus asked anxiously.

Chairs and benches creaked as patrons shifted on their seats, glasses clinked down on the tables.

Papyrus hurried over and sat on the stool beside Frisk. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO UPSET YOU, HU-FRISK."

Frisk sniffed and pressed their palms against their eyes.

"WHEN YOU WENT MISSING I GOT WORRIED SICK!" He said, "YOU SHOULD ASK BEFORE ESCAPING!"

"i was cold n hungry." Frisk mumbled, they reached out and tugged on Papyrus' scarf, "you said you were gonna make me spaghetti."

"AND NOW YOU HAVE BEEN DRIVEN TO EAT THIS GREASY STUFF!" He shook his head in dismay, "I HAVE FAILED YOU!

Grillby glanced at Papyrus dismissively.

"Pap?" Frisk asked.

"PAP? IS THAT A NICKNAME FOR ME?!" Papyrus asked excitedly.

Frisk nodded, "I'm not gonna fight you Pap."

His excitement fizzled, "UNDYNE, SHE-" Papyrus floundered, "I'M SUPPOSED TO-"

" 'An you're not gonna capture me-" Frisk twisted the bright red fabric between their fingers.

Papyrus said weakly, "B-BUT THE ROYAL GUARD-"

" 'cause we're friends, Pap, best friends. You don't know it yet but you'll see!" Frisk squeezed his scarf tight, "I'll be the best friend you've ever had, Pap!" Their smiled slowly faded, "...you'll see." they sniffled.

A glass squeaked as Grillby methodically polished it with a green dish towel. Someone dropped a spoon and it clattered across the floor.

Papyrus' eyes were shining, "REALLY!? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME?" He gushed excitedly, "WELL THEN... I GUESS... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU! WOWIE!" He swept Frisk off the stool and squished them in a hug. "UNDYNE WILL BE VERY MAD IF SHE FINDS OUT." He said as he sat them down. "WELL, I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE SHE NEVER FINDS OUT! NYEH HEH HEH! IF THE GREAT PAPYRUS CANNOT PROTECT HIS FRIENDS THEN WHAT KIND OF SKELETON WOULD I BE?!" He struck a cool hero pose. "AFTER ALL, ANOTHER HUMAN WILL SHOW UP SOON. UNDYNE DOESN'T NEED THEM ALL, SURELY JUST THE BAD ONES!"

Frisk giggled and gave him a wobbly smile, "You're really cool, Pap."

Papyrus wiped the last tears from Frisk's cheeks very gently. "I AM INDEED THE COOLEST."

There were mummers and barks of approval around the room. The patrons started talking again, glasses clinked together.

"I SUPPOSE YOU'LL BE HEADING FOR THE BARRIER?" Papyrus asked.

Frisk shook their head, "...not yet."

"WELL, IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO STAY... JUST ASK!" Papyrus said excitedly.

"Then... can I stay with you, Pap? Maybe, just for a while?" Frisk asked hesitantly.

His bones rattled faintly with excitement, "OF COURSE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk smiled.

"DO YOU WANT TO COME NOW?" Papyrus asked, "I CAN SHOW YOU THE HOUSE AND MAKE YOU SOME OF MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTI!"

They nodded and Papyrus lead the way to the door.

Papyrus pulled the door shut behind them and lifted Frisk onto to his shoulders, "AS THE FIRST HONORED GUEST TO EAT MY SPAGHETTI, BESIDES SANS, DO YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS?"

Frisk shook their head, "N-" Chara blurted, " _Mostly tomato with some onions, garlic and basil, but mushrooms or peppers would also be good._ "

Frisk frowned.

 _He used to put bananas or nuts or other weird stuff in his spaghetti,_ remember?! Chara said urgently, _I don't care how hungry you are, his early work was the worst!_

"HMMM... I SHALL TRY, THOUGH, I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS 'BASIL'" He turned his head up towards Frisk, "YOU AREN'T GETTING SICK ARE YOU?"

"I'm ok." Frisk reassured him, patting the top of his skull.

"THAT'S GOOD! YOUR VOICE SOUNDED DIFFERENT FOR A MOMENT."

Frisk frowned at Chara again.

 _You'll thank me later._

Papyrus set them back down on the ground outside their house, opening the door and waving Frisk inside.

"I'M SO EXCITED TO GET STARTED!" Papyrus said.

Frisk asked, "Pap, 'm gonna nap on the couch, 's that ok?"

Papyrus nodded, "CERTAINLY! I SHALL WAKE YOU ONCE MY MASTERPIECE IS COMPLETE!" He rushed into the kitchen.

 _That was a good plan_ _._

"...didn't have one." Frisk whispered.

 _In that case, it worked out perfectly._ Chara said pleased.

Frisk crawled onto the couch and curled into the cushions. The green fabric was faded, and worn thin and soft by time. Moving it to the surface wouldn't change it much, it even smelled the same, like Grillby's and weird spaghetti...

-"YOU'VE GOT TO JUMP HIGHER, JEEZ!"-

-Frisk shook off the twingey ache from smacking into one of Papyrus' bones and furrowed their brow in concentration. -

-"I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY! PAPYRUS HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"-

-Frisk jumped higher this time and managed to clear all the bones Papyrus threw at them. The wind was biting cold and their body was stiff.-

-"PAPYRUS UNPARALLELLED SPAGHETTITOR!" Papyrus rattled his bones with excitement, "UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!"-

The couch bounced as Papyrus sat down, a plate of spaghetti in each hand, "DINNER IS SERVED!"

Frisk sat up and rubbed their eyes. They took the plate heaped with spaghetti and sniffed it, it smelled tomatoey. "Tanks, Pap." They said sleepily. The noodles were undercooked and chewy and the sauce had too much garlic but it was unoffensive for the most part. Frisk was hungry enough that they didn't care what it tasted like.

"YOU MUST REALLY LOVE MY COOKING!" Papyrus said.

Frisk nodded, "a little garlicy but it's really good!"

"I'VE NEVER TRIED THIS KIND OF SAUCE, IT'S VERY INTERESTING, IN A TASTY SORT OF WAY!"

Frisk giggled, "You have sauce on your face."

"AS DO YOU! NYEH HEH!" He popped back to his feet and took Frisk's empty plate and jogged to the kitchen returning with a damp towel. He wiped Frisk's face clean with a practiced air. "SANS IS ALWAYS GETTING KETCHUP ON HIS FACE AND NEVER BOTHERS TO CLEAN IT OFF. HE'S EVEN GONE TO WORK LIKE THAT! SO UNPROFESSIONAL!"

Frisk tugged the cloth out of Papyrus' hand and stood up on the couch, gesturing for him to lean down. Frisk rubbed the sauce off his chin and nodded with satisfaction.

"THANK YOU! YOU'RE VERY KIND, ALMOST AS KIND AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" he said, "MY FAVORITE SHOW WILL BE COMING ON SOON. WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH IT WITH ME?"

Frisk nodded, plopping back down on the couch.

In no short order Papyrus cleaned up, found some blankets and had the tv turned on just in time for the MTT show to start. Frisk pulled a blanket tight around them and sighed happily. Papyrus kept interrupting the show to point out all his favorite parts. It was a musical drama, Mettaton was playing all the parts, elaborate costumes included but every shot had only him in it. It was more of a mystery than a drama, trying to keep all the parts straight but Papyrus seemed to have it memorized and was happy to explain.

"THE COOKING SHOW IS NEXT!" He said excitedly as the first program ended, "IT'S MY FAVORITE!"

There was a commercial on for MTT Brand beauty yogurt. Mettaton was twirling around, spreading a weird cream on his display while the edge of the screen glittered with pink stars.

Frisk wiggled deeper into the blanket. "Pap?" Frisk said sleepily.

"YES?" Papyrus asked.

"Undyne won't be disappointed in you..." Frisk's eyes drifted shut, "cause she likes you for who you are... cause you're her friend."

"THAT'S..." Papyrus tucked the blanket around them. "WELL..."

"You...gonna make... a lot of friends, Pap."

They felt Papyrus gently pat their head as they fell asleep.

…

"hey, pap." Sans said, shaking his brother's shoulder, "you fell asleep watching tv again."

Papyrus blinked awake and yawned, "I COULDN'T MISS METTATON'S COOKING SHOW! HE SEEMS TO KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE ART OF COOKERY."

Frisk nudged their blanket cocoon away from their face so they could see out.

"wow," Sans said as he spotted Frisk, "looks like you actually captured them, bro."

"YOU DON'T CAPTURE YOUR FRIENDS!" Papyrus said, outraged, "FRISK IS GOING TO BE OUR GUEST."

Sans raised a brow, "friends, huh?"

Frisk smugly stuck out their tongue.

"heh." Sans shook his head slightly, "no fighting?"

They nodded and shrugged back into their blanket.

"you still want a bedtime story?" Sans asked Papyrus.

Papyrus shook his head, "FRISK ALREADY TOLD ME A VERY GOOD STORY. SO I WON'T BE NEEDING ONE TONIGHT."

"you need a bedtime story, kid?" Sans asked.

They shook their head, and asked "A pillow?"

Sans turned on his heel, looking around the small house, "i think we have an extra somewhere."

The tv was turned off and a pillow was found in the closet. Papyrus tucked in Frisk again and Sans tucked Papyrus in before disappearing into his own room.

Snow began to fall outside the window filling the world with a soft whisper.

 _Good night, Frisk._ Chara whispered.

(a/n: This story updates weekly.

I personally like Sans best, but I feel like Papyrus would be Frisk's favorite. He's just so 100% authentic all the time. Also, Frisk is showing a bit of an edge in this chapter, a bit of sharpness. Anyhoo thank you very much for reading!)


	8. Chapter 8

a/n: _Italics_ denote Chara.

-Dashes- around a text block denote a memory.

Also hold onto your pants, angst ahead. 

Chapter 8

"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS HOW IT WORKS?" Papyrus asked.

"Yes." Frisk looked over Papyrus' head from atop his shoulders.

He narrowed his eyes, "THIS SEEMS A LOT LIKE BAKING..."

"It's pancakes!" Frisk laughed.

"IT HAS CAKE IN THE NAME!" Papyrus stirred the batter furiously.

"Mettaton did it, so can you." Frisk papped the top of his skull.

He agreed reluctantly, "YOU HAVE A POINT..."

"Because you're the best!" Frisk said, "Make sure you unstick the pan, spray or butter or somefing."

Papyrus buttered the pan and poured in some of the pancake batter, his face screwed up in concentration.

"Not too much." Frisk said.

Papyrus jerked the bowl back. Batter streaked across the counter.

Frisk said, "You make lots of little pancakes, so there's lots to share."

"breakfast?" Sans said with a yawn, his slippers shuffling across the kitchen floor. He was wearing a tatty pink bathrobe that was far too long and dragged after him on the ground.

"Pancakes!" Frisk said excitedly.

Papyrus kept his eyes fixed on the pancake, "METTATON WAS MAKING THEM ON HIS COOKING SHOW LAST NIGHT AND FRISK WANTED TO MAKE THEM TOGETHER!"

"You even have syrup!" Frisk said, "I found it in the cupboards!"

Sans picked picked up the bottle of syrup and turned it over in his hands. "this is five years old."

"Syrup doesn't go bad and monster food lasts forever." Frisk said impatiently, glancing over Papyrus' head, "flip it now, with a flipper."

"you mean a spatula?"

Papyrus awkwardly flipped the pancake, it hit the edge of the pan and half the pancake plopped on the cooktop. He groaned.

Frisk patted his forehead, "You must go through trials and grow to become the hero you were meant to be."

"YOU SOUND LIKE DR. ALPHYS!" Papyrus poked the rest of the half-pancake back into the pan, "I LIKE IT! TRAILS OF A TRUE HERO! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"you're already a hero to me, bro." Sans poured a cup of coffee.

"YOUR THOUGHTS ARE APPRECIATED, SANS." the half pancake was lifted out of the pan and placed on a plate. He poured more batter in the pan, "WILL YOU HAVE BREAKFAST WITH US?" he tried to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

"eh, maybe." Sans said.

"Please?" Frisk asked.

Sans shrugged and wandered back out to the living room.

Papyrus flipped the second pancake. "SUCCESS! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk applauded enthusiastically.

The rest of the pancakes were cooked with a fairly high degree of success and piled onto three plates and liberally covered in butter and syrup. Frisk ran over to the couch with their plate and jumped up next to Sans. Papyrus sat next to them and placed the third plate on the armrest beside his brother.

Frisk stuffed a forkful of pancakes in their mouth.

"HOW DO THEY TASTE?" Papyrus asked.

They nodded, " 'S good!"

Papyrus beamed, "NYEH HEH HEH! ANOTHER TRIUMPH BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Sans sighed.

"YOU CAN'T LIVE OFF GRILLBY'S, SANS, ALL THAT GREASE ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU!" Papyrus chided.

Frisk nudged Sans with their elbow and whispered, "They really do taste nice."

Sans took his plate and ate a small bite, he perked up and took a bigger bite. "pretty good."

Papyrus pumped his fist in the air.

Frisk held up a hand and Papyrus high-fived them.

 _Can... can i eat some?_ Chara asked.

Frisk nodded and swapped places with them. Chara stabbed a bite of pancake, they practically bounced as they ate it, enjoying every bite as slowly as humanly possible. Frisk hung back and let Chara eat all of the last pancake before taking control again.

 _Don't,_ Chara warned.

Frisk smiled.

 _Don't._

Frisk could still feel Chara's happiness filling them up like a gentle warmth. Their smile grew.

 _...you're so embarrassing._ They groaned.

Papyrus collected up their plates, "WE HAVE A VERY BUSY DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Frisk followed him to the kitchen, "Can I come?"

"YOU ARE TRULY A PUZZLE ENTHUSIAST!" Papyrus waved his hand and the dishes were enveloped in a blue glow and floated up to the sink. "I SHALL TEACH YOU THE WAYS OF PUZZLE MASTER PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH! BUT FIRST, YOU NEED TO BUNDLE UP!" He jogged up to his room.

Frisk padded over to the couch, Sans had dozed off. His coffee cup wobbled in his hand. Frisk carefully took it from him and sat it on the floor, grabbing their blanket and pulling it over Sans, tucking it in around the edges.

Papyrus tromped down the stairs with a bundle of winter cloths in his arms. He sighed when he saw Sans, shaking his head, "HE WAS UP AT AN ALMOST NORMAL TIME!"

"It's a tired day." Frisk said, putting on the orange jacket and zipping it up.

Papyrus knelt in front of Frisk, tugging a white hat with a bobble on their head and wrapping a huge knitted scarf around their face, "HE'S GOING TO BE LATE FOR WORK..."

"I can do it!" Frisk said, holding their hands out.

Papyrus pushed a pair of mittens on their hands. He opened his mouth to protest, "..." narrowed his eyes and leaned back a bit.

Frisk pushed the hat up and tugged the scarf down so they could see out.

He finally said, "YOU'RE A BIT TOO SHORT..."

They straightened up and stood on tiptoe, trying very hard to look taller.

Papyrus shrugged and stood up, "LETS BORROW SANS' JACKET, YOU CAN SWITCH WHEN THE LAZYBONES WAKES UP. THAT WAY YOU SHALL BE MORE SANS-LIKE."

Frisk had to roll up the sleeves of Sans' jacket; it hung down to their knees. They bounced with excitement, "Are we gonna recalibrate the puzzles today?"

Papyrus opened the door, holding it for Frisk, "INDEED! WITH YOUR ASSITANCE I CAN MAKE THEM DOUBLY MORE HUMAN-PROOF!"

Frisk tried to speak in low, Sans sort of voice, "You got it, bro." they giggled.

"NO GIGGLING, SANS!" Papyrus chided playfully, picking Frisk up and setting them on their shoulders.

~The next day~

-The world turned black. A small figure stood before them, white fur and a green striped shirt. His face was so gentle and kind.-

-"Howdy! Chara, are you there? It's me, your best friend..."-

-Asriel's face suddenly disappeared, the air turned ice cold, and the figure that reappeared was tall and streaked with black but the worst thing, the worst thing, was the alien cruelty on his face. That was like a blade across the heart.-

- _...It's the end..._ Chara voice had never sounded smaller, more hurt.-

-He used fire that burned their skin, their throat choked on the heat.-

-"You know... I don't care about destroying this world anymore." he chuckled in a strange voice, sharp and deep.-

-Their soul was sluggish with pain. It hurt... everything hurt but they had too, they had to save everyone. Their friends, their dreams and hopes. They had to take them to the surface. A laser cut through them and their soul began to tear-

-but it refused-

Frisk bolt up from the couch, clutching their chest. Sweat soaked their back and forehead. They could still feel it, every fiber of their being screamed with the pain of the memory, their soul throbbed. They wadded up the blanket and clutched it tight to their chest. Every breath shook.

Frisk squeezed the blanket tighter. "...Chara..." they whispered.

A shudder went through them. Frisk reached out but could feel only shaking and fear. They kept reaching but it was like trying to grasp smoke.

"...Chara...?" Frisk pulled their knees to their chest.

The room was lit faintly by the snow light leaking through the window. Frisk stared at the wall and waited for the desperate fear to pass; counting each breath.

"kid?"

Frisk jumped, pressing their back hard into the couch.

Sans was standing at the end of the couch. He held out a glass of water to them. "you looked like you could use this."

Frisk slowly unclenched their fingers from the blanket and wrapped them around the cup. It was cool. They sipped the water and pressed the glass to their cheek.

"may i?" he gestured to the empty cushion.

Frisk nodded.

"you alright?" he asked, sitting down.

Frisk didn't answer.

He asked, "do you want me to leave?"

Frisk shook their head.

Sans leaned back into the cushions, his eyes drifting half shut but never quite closing.

They slowly twisted the cup in their hands.

 _…...i'm sorry..._ Chara's voice was gossamer thin.

Frisk's eyes burned and tears dripped down their nose. "...not alone..." they mumbled.

Sans glanced over at them and held open one arm.

They awkwardly crawled over and leaned into his shoulder.

"you know, if you need something you only have to ask." He narrowed his eyes and shook his head slightly as if he had just remembered something or, forgotten it.

Frisk nodded and took another swallow of water. They finally managed, "...bad dream."

Sans nodded and patted their head.

 _...i...will try harder..._ Chara said weakly.

"It's ok." Frisk murmured.

 _i promise,_ Chara's voice was almost pleading. _i'll do better this- i'll do better._

"hm." sans cracked an eye open. "you done with that water?"

Frisk took another sip and set the glass down on the floor. "Thank you, Sans."

"no problem, kiddo." He ruffled their hair absently, "mind if i stay here? i'm pretty comfortable."

Frisk grabbed the crumpled blanket and pulled it over them, and leaned against Sans shoulder. Frisk felt him slowly relax, his head sank to his chest. Frisk tugged their hands free from the blanket. They looked at them for a second and then pressed them together and squeezed their left hand with their right. Hesitantly, Chara took control of the left hand, and squeezed Frisk's hand. They closed their eyes.

 _You're not alone._ Chara held Frisk's hand until they fell back to sleep.

~Yet another day~

"ANOTHER EXCITING DAY OF PUZZLES AND GUARDING AWAITS US!" Papyrus pointed dramatically across the long narrow bridge that separated Snowdin from the forest.

"sure thing, bro." Sans said with a shrug, they turned to Frisk, "you up for it?"

Frisk nodded and smiled with confidence they didn't feel.

"OF COURSE THEY'RE UP FOR IT! FRISK IS A PUZZLE PASSIONEER JUST LIKE ME!"

"they haven't been sleeping well the last couple nights." Sans told him. Frisk frowned. Sans continued, "maybe the kid could use a day off, is what i'm saying."

Papyrus' face softened, "I SEE...PERHAPS IT'S A TIRED DAY?" he knelt down in front of Frisk, "IT'S NOT GOOD TO PUSH YOURSELF TOO HARD!" He gave Frisk the key to the house. "REST UP TODAY AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE PUZZLING TOMORROW!"

Frisk nodded and pushed the key into their pocket. They held their arms up, "hug?"

Papyrus didn't pick them up and spin them around like they normally did, but simply squeezed them very tightly for a lot longer than he normally did.

Sans mussed their hair as he followed Papyrus across the bridge.

"YOU TOLD ME YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT BACK TO YOUR ROOM AFTER YOUR MIDNIGHT SNACK! I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST BEING LAZY!" Papyrus berated.

Sans said, "didn't want to worry you, pap."

Frisk stood and watched them until they were out of sight, they could still hear Papyrus scolding Sans.

"I WOULD LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE WORRYING FROM NOW ON! WHEN IT COMES TO FRISK-"

Frisk smiled and took a deep breath, letting it out in a cloud and walked back into town. Monster Kid was loitering around the tree, they bounced excitedly when they saw Frisk.

"Yo!" MK ran over to them, tripped, smacked face first into the snow, and popped back up as if nothing happened.

"Are you ok?" Frisk asked.

"No problem!" They shook the snow off their face, "You're not hanging out with those skeleton brothers today?"

"Nuhuh." Frisk shook their head.

"This is kinda a weird question, but are you a kid?" MK asked.

They unzipped their coat to show MK their shirt.

"A striped shirt! Then you are a kid!" MK bounced on their toes, "I'm MK. Do you wanna play?"

"I'm Frisk," They hesitated for a moment then nodded, "I'll play for a bit."

"Cool!" MK grinned, "What do you wanna do?"

"Hide n' seek?" Frisk suggested.

"Yeah!" MK ran back over to the christmas tree, "This is home base! Do you wanna hide first or look?"

 _Seek!_ Chara said.

"Hide." Frisk said.

"Ok! I'll count to thirty! NO hiding inside!" MK leaned into the tree and closed their eyes, "One! Two!"

Frisk ran down the street and hunkered down behind the Welcome to Snowdin! sign. They could feel Chara sulking.

"When it's our turn to seek you can do it, K?" Frisk offered.

Chara perked up, Really?

Frisk nodded.

They played hide 'n seek for forever and a half, or until they were hungry. MK invited them to come to their house and their mom made them lunch. All MK's family used magic to levitate and move things but MK's hadn't developed yet. Their parents didn't want to talk about it and seemed worried. MK didn't seem to mind, their optimism never seemed to falter.

Frisk wrapped their scarf back on and pulled on their gloves as they went back outside.

"What should we play now?" MK asked, "Oh! Let's play monsters and humans! I can be Undyne and you can be the human! And then I'll capture you and free all the monsters!"

Frisk shook their head.

MK said, "We can take turns of course, 'cause Undyne is the coolest!"

Frisk shook their head again.

"You don't like Undyne?" MK asked crestfallen.

"I like Undyne." Frisk said softly, "She's very cool and strong an..."

"I don't get it." MK complained.

Frisk scuffed their toe in the snow, "I don't want to hurt anyone..."

MK furrowed their brow, "It's just pretend!"

Frisk shook their head. "can we play something else? Like tap-tag?"

"What's that?" MK asked.

"Oh," Frisk realized that tap-tag was something MK and them had made up a lot later, up on the surface. "it's um...it's like tag but I pull my arms inside my jacket and you tag the other person by bumping them but if you bump too hard and the other person falls over then you lose... it's like that."

"I've never heard of that game!" MK's eyes sparkled, "It sounds like the best!"

Frisk grinned and nodded. It was fun and unlike a lot of games, MK was the best at it. "We could play with all the other kids too?"

MK ran ahead to see who else could play with them.

~Later, yet later~

"NOW, YOU'VE HAD A BEDTIME STORY AND A HOT CUP OF COCOA..." Papyrus said, tucking the blanket around Frisk, "ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP WITH ME TONIGHT?"

Frisk smiled and shook their head.

"there's no room anyway, unless you like rolling onto the ground." Sans said with a cheeky grin.

Papyrus glared at his brother, "SLEEPING WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A CERTAIN CURE FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO SLEEP! IT ALWAYS WORKS FOR SANS."

Sans rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"HOWEVER," Papyrus continued, "EVEN WITHOUT THAT, A STORY AND COCOA ARE ALMOST AS GOOD."

"You're the best, Pap." Frisk said.

"WOULD YOU LIKE ANYTHING ELSE? ANYTHING AT ALL?" He asked anxiously.

Frisk shook their head.

Papyrus hesitated then gently pressed his forehead to theirs.

"...pap..." Sans breathed, his eyes widening slightly.

"SLEEP WELL, FRISK." He smoothed their hair and tugged the blanket a little higher.

Sans cleared his throat and said, "you come get either of us if you have a bad dream, alright?"

Frisk nodded.

The brothers turned off the lights and climbed the stairs to their rooms.

Frisk pulled the blanket up to their mouth and whispered, "Chara, the dreams keep getting worse...I'm scared."

 _me too,_ Chara said softly.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, "I don't wanna leave."

 _...i know..._

Frisk rolled the edge of the blanket between their fingers.

Chara asked, Do _you want me to hold your hand while you fall asleep?_

"yeah." Frisk said.

Frisk linked hands and felt Chara squeeze. They sighed and felt themselves begin to relax and dream.

-Yellow flowers, golden yellow, the _seeds_ sticking to everything.-

-Frisk stared at the flowers.-

 _-"_ Don't _worry about me_. Someone has to _take care_ of these _flowers_." The memory hurt, why did it hurt-

-... _Azzy?_ i…... Chara's voice was distant, half asleep, lost-

-Frisk walked over to the flower bed and touched one of the bright yellow petals. _Was he still crying?_ -

-" _I_ don't want to _break their hearts all over again_." They could hear Azzy's voice as if... as if he was right there-

- _...where...are...you...?_ Chara asked. They could see... they could only see yellow flowers but... they _could_ see, after to so long-

-A _wave of dizziness_ came over them and they wobbled.-

-"I'm so alone, _Chara_..."-

-His voice again, he must be close, he had to be. They said,... _i'm sorry! Azzy...-_

 _-_ "I'm so afraid, _Chara_..."-

 _-_ His voice was fading, they pleaded, _please don't leave me! ...please...-_

 _-"_ I know... _Chara's_ been _gone_ for a long time..."-

-It hurt. It hurt. It hurt!-

- _I'm right here!_ They shouted they pressed, reaching and reaching against the shallow window of the world, _I'll be good! I promise...I promise!_ They had to go to him! Just a little further just-

- _PLEASE!_ They begged.-

-A deep pain _please come back..._ blossomed in the center of _Please!_ their skull and spread out, filling _Asriel!_ their whole mind.

 _-_ Everything went black and fell and fell, and fell... and fell.-

Frisk shot up. They tumbled off the couch in tangle of blankets.

 _i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry,_ Chara's voice was a trembling whisper.

Frisk stifled a sob, glancing upstairs and ran to the door, fumbling outside. They eased the door shut behind them and shuddered as the cold bit into their skin.

"...no...!" Frisk shuddered.

Chara stuttered, _i'm s-sorry-!_

"...No!..." Frisk twisted their hands into fists, "...no...no...no..." They crumpled into the snow and clenched the burning cold in their hands. Tears streamed down their cheeks.

... _I didn't mean to..._ Chara whimpered.

"m-mum..." Frisk sobbed, "...an pop-pop! An..." they bit down on their lip.

Chara tried to explain, tried to reach out to them, _F-frisk... Frisk, i'm sorry...i dinna-_

"...I was happy." Frisk threw the snow into the darkness, "I was _happy_!" They yelled. "And you took everything!"

... _i'm sorry..._ Chara's voice grew fainter. _...don't do this, plea e, d 't...!_ they pleaded.

"No!" Frisk angrily wiped their eyes.

. _.._ _..i'm_ _s r y, ple do t!_ _…_

They shuddered, "...no..."

 _…i ...so …!_

Frisk sobbed achingly into the snow, gasping between breaths. The cold seared their tears like acid on their cheeks but a lot of the pain had gone... they felt a surge of relief... and relaxed their hands. They were all alone.

..

...

...

"-ISK! WERE ARE Y-" The door slammed open, Papyrus shouted their name into the cold night, "FRISK! FRISK!"

Long thin fingers wrapped around them, lifting them from the snow like a doll. Papyrus tucked them tight to his chest and ran inside to his brother's door, pounding on it frantically, "SANS! PLEASE-! PLEASE HELP!"

The door snicked open, "bro-! what's wrong?" Sans asked in alarm.

"FRISK IS-! I HEARD A NOISE AND THEY WERE OUTSIDE-!" His bones were trembling, "THEY'RE SO COLD!"

"show me." Sans snapped.

Papyrus instantly bent down.

Sans held his hand over Frisks chest and for a moment their soul glowed a dull red. "bring them downstairs." Sans ordered. He ran down the stairs and Papyrus quickly followed. "give them to me." He said.

Papyrus asked, "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO-!"

"i'm gonna to take them to hotland," Sans snapped, "now hurry up!"

Papyrus reluctantly handed them over.

Sans sagged but held onto them tightly, "warm the place up, make some cocoa. we'll be back before you know it." Sans said, adding, "they'll be ok." He stepped through-

The heat washed over them like a sauna. Sans sat down muttering, "heavier than you look." leaning Frisk against himself.

"...kid" Sans said softly.

They flinched.

"frisk, kid..."

Frisk slowly opened their eyes, their gaze fixing somewhere around Sans' arm.

"hey there, kiddo." he said soothingly.

Their body began violently shivering.

Sans grinned, "you gave us a scare."

Frisk skin began to prickle painfully as the feeling crept back. They twitched and whimpered.

"you're not allowed to make my brother cry, you know." Sans said in a light, teasing tone.

They lowered their head, a tear dripped off their eyelashes.

Sans took their hand and carefully rubbed it between his own, then the other. "wiggle your fingers for me."

Frisk slowly moved them.

"now your toes," he instructed.

They twitched their toes.

"well, no harm then." he said, "you probably weren't outside for too long. grab your jacket next time, ok?" he joked.

Frisk din't respond.

Sans sighed, "there's a bit more to this than just dreams, isn't there? ...you were lucky that pap heard you and came looking. i don't know how you managed it in less than a week but you're as good as family now and like i said, you're not allowed to make my brother cry." he scratched his cheek, "...he's pretty attached to you." Sans stood up, "you feeling better now?"

Frisk nodded slowly.

He held out a hand. "come on."

Frisk's hand drifted up slowly, like it was filled with lead.

Sans pulled them to their feet, catching their shoulder with his other hand and steadying them. "alright lets get back before papyrus paces a hole in the carpet. hold on tight to my hand."

Frisk squeezed his hand, the world went black for a moment.

"pap, we're back." Sans said.

Papyrus was wringing his hands pacing back and forth in front of the couch in his silly, wonderful, race car pajamas, his brow contorted with worry. "FRISK!", His face lit up.

Frisk stared in wonder as he ran over and hugged them.

"HOW ARE YOU FEELING? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Papyrus asked, worry etched on his face.

Sans said, "they're fine, physically, anyway."

Frisk leaned their head against Papyrus' chest. They could feel the warm thrum of his soul. It was like feeling the sun on your face on a cold day.

Papyrus hugged them gently as if they were made of glass and might break, "I MADE COCOA AND TEA AND COFFEE... I WASN'T SURE WHICH YOU MIGHT WANT."

"well i'll take the coffee." Sans said with a yawn.

"I DIDN'T MAKE IT FOR YOU, SANS!" Papyrus snapped.

"frisk doesn't drink coffee, bro." Sans said as he went into the kitchen, "i however, do, and am gonna need some to stay awake."

Papyrus shifted as if to follow Sans, then stopped and placed a hand on Frisk' back and picked them up, holding them tight and carrying them over to the couch. Sans returned from the kitchen with two mugs, one of coffee and the other of tea. Sans pressed the mug into Frisk's hands and sat next to Papyrus on the couch.

"it'll warm up your hands at least." Sans grinned and grabbed the remote and flipped the tv on. "suppose there are any good reruns on?"

Frisk stayed on Papyrus' lap, mug growing cold in their hands, ear pressed to his soul as, somewhere above the soil, the sun began to rise.

a/n: Weekly updates

There was a lot of sniffling and escaped tears writing this chapter. It was rough writing this. I worried more than usual, probably because this marks the first major tone shift, but it can't all be fluff, sorry.

In lighter news, I guess I now have a head cannon that skeletons press their foreheads together as a sign of affection. So what Pap does to Frisk is something momma skelly do to their baby skellys. Have I mentioned that I now adore Papyrus? Cause I do.


	9. Chapter 9

a/n: _Italics_ denote Chara.

-Dashes- around a text block denote a memory.

Chapter Nine

Sans narrowed his eyes and slowly lowered his hand from where it had been hovering over Frisk's chest. The red glow of their soul faded. "looks like you're in the pink." he grinned.

Frisk gave him a blank look.

Sans shrugged, "it's an old saying."

"SANS!?"

"not now, bro-"

"SANS! THEY-"

Sans held up a hand for Papyrus to shush and glanced over to Frisk with a relaxed smile, "hey, kid, why don't you head upstairs and get changed then we'll figure out breakfast, alright?"

Frisk glanced from Pap to Sans then reluctantly went up the stairs to Paps room, closing the door behind them. They pressed their ear to the crack in the door. The brothers had moved to the kitchen but Papyrus was still easy to hear.

"THEIR HP..."

"yeah."

"IT USED TO BE TWENTY BUT NOW IT'S NINETEEN-!"

Sans said something softly.

"WHAT SHOULD WE DO? I CAN'T-"

"pap... just..."

Frisk stepped back from the door and went to the closet, grabbing their clothes and quickly changed into them, throw their pajamas on the ground in a pile. They pressed their hand to their heart and concentrated, nothing happened. They furrowed their brow their soul flashed briefly under their fingers. Nineteen HoPe.

Frisk slowly went downstairs and gravitated to Papyrus, grabbing his hand and leaning into him.

"ARE YOU UNWELL? DO YOU FEEL SICK?" Papyrus asked them.

Frisk shook their head, "...tired." they mumbled.

"we could call in sick?" Sans asked optimistically.

"WE ARE NOT SICK! WE ARE ALL FINE!"

"you might be fine but i am _bone_ tired."

"SANS!" Papyrus said in exasperation.

"how bout some Grillby's?" Sans asked.

"THAT PLACE IS HORRIBLE AND YOU KNOW I HATE IT."

"he does this egg biscuit thing, tastes great with ketchup."

Papyrus sighed in exasperation.

"come on, bro, just once won't hurt. we're all too tired to cook anything." Sans wheedled.

"...FINE." he grumbled, "JUST THIS ONCE."

Sans lead the way to Grillby's. Papyrus sulking after him with Frisk in tow.

"hey, grillby!" Sans called as they entered, "three of those egg breakfast things with extra ketchup on the side."

Grillby's was mostly empty this early. Grillby was at his usual place behind the bar, he nodded at the order and disappeared back to the kitchens.

Papyrus slid into a booth with Frisk, keeping his arms tucked tight to his sides as if the grease would rub off on him if he touched anything.

Lesser and Greater Dog were the only guard dogs in the restaurant, they perked up when they saw Frisk come in and approached the booth, tails wagging. Frisk let go of Papyrus' hand and slowly slid off the bench. Lesser Dog sniffed them over and made a low whine. Greater Dog popped out of its armor and pressed against them.

Frisk ran their fingers through Greater's fur, they sat down on the ground and both dogs tried to crawl into their lap. Lesser Dog licked Frisk's chin with perhaps too much exuberance. Despite themselves, Frisk smiled. Encouraged, Lesser Dog licked more and Greater Dog, feeling left out, joined in. Frisk tried to pull their face away, the dogs kept wiggling closer til Frisk fell over and was buried under dog.

"FRISK! ARE YOU-"

A faint giggle escaped from beneath all the white fur.

"see, it was a good idea to come here." Sans said as he walked back over holding a plate and bottle of ketchup.

Grillby followed behind him with two more plates which he sat on the table. He paused in front of the pile of dog and tapped his foot impatiently. Greater and Lesser clambered off Frisk with ears low and tails tucked between their legs. Grillby offered a hand to help Frisk back to their feet.

Frisk regarded the gloved hand curiously and tentatively took it, letting Grillby pull them up. His hand was hot by not painfully so. Frisk's hand prickled.

Grillby nodded his head to Frisk and returned to the bar.

"food's here." Sans said.

Frisk blinked and shook their head slightly, quickly sliding into the bench next to Papyrus. Sans' egg biscuit was quickly engulfed by ketchup. Frisk did their best to eat but they weren't very hungry and the food sat heavy on their stomach. Eventually, they gave up and slid back out of the booth to pet Greater and Lesser while Papyrus and Sans ate, and pretended not to see the worried looks Papyrus kept giving them.

"some things can't be fixed pap." Sans said, "they're young, they'll bounce back in no time."

"I JUST WISH I COULD DO SOMETHING..."

Sans smiled, "you are."

Papyrus' brow furrowed in frustration.

"maybe frisk ought to help me out at the sentry station, today."

"BUT-!"

"you gotta report to undyne today don't you?" Sans asked.

Papyrus nodded weakly.

"she's probably heard a human's in the underground. Anyone whose met the kid wouldn't tell her but that won't stop others..."

"WHAT SHOULD I SAY?!" he tapped his gloves together anxiously.

"the truth, probably, you're a horrible liar." Sans stabbed a fork into the ketchup swamp and somehow managed to strike food.

"I CAN'T TELL HER THE TRUTH!"

"you tell her, there was a human, you captured them but they escaped. that's the truth. hopefully she'll start searching waterfall and we can figure something else before she catches on." He ate the last bite of his breakfast and grabbed Frisk's plate, scraping the leftover third of biscuit into the condiment lake.

"YES... THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL THINK OF A FOOLPROOF PLAN THAT WILL INVOLVE NO ONE GETTING HURT OR CAPTURED!"

"that's my bro. you gonna eat that?" he pointed at Papyrus' plate with his fork.

Papyrus frowned and ate the biscuit in three quick bites, grimacing as he finished and springing to his feet. "COME, WE HAVE WORK TO DO!" he marched outside with more pep in his step than before.

Sans walked over to Frisk, petting the guard dogs goodbye, "whata ya think about hanging out with me today?"

Frisk nodded and grabbed the edge of his jacket, following him outside.

"I HAVE THINGS TO ATTEND TO TODAY," Papyrus told Frisk, "BUT TONIGHT I SHALL PREPARE A SPAGHETTI FEAST, JUST HOW YOU LIKE IT!"

Frisk smiled and nodded.

"HUG?" Papyrus held out his arms.

Frisk ran over and Papyrus picked them up and spun them around is a tight squeezy hug. "NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk spun a little once back on the ground.

Sans reached out "here." he grabbed their hand, "i know a shortcut."

"JUST DON'T FALL ASLEEP ON DUTY FOR ONCE!"

"wouldn't _dream_ of it." He winked and pulled Frisk after him.

"SANS!"

They popped out just a little ways down the path away from Snowdin.

Sans stuffed his hands in his pockets, "so what do you want to do?" he asked, "pap'll be busy for a few hours and sentry duty is no fun."

Frisk looked at him in confusion.

He shrugged, "i don't really know how to cheer someone up, but i can take you anywhere you want."

Frisk thought for a moment, "...Napstablook."

"what?" Sans asked.

"they live in waterfall, at the snail farm."

Sans expression froze, "the snail farm right next undyne's house? you're kidding, right?"

Frisk shook their head.

"well, she's probably not home..." Sans rubbed his head and sighed, "i think i know a shortcut." He held out his hand.

They grabbed his hand. The world became darker and warmer. Frisk pulled their hat off and unwound their scarf. They hurried towards Blook's house.

"kid!" Sans hissed, "get back here!" nabbing their arm and pulling them back.

Frisk frowned, and leaned against his grip.

"just let me check ahead-" Sans startled and pulled Frisk behind him.

"oh, no..." Blook said softly, "sorry, i interrupted you didn't i? you guys looked like you were having fun." they looked teary, and slowly began fading away, "i just wanted to say hi, oh, no..."

"Blook, wait-!" Frisk said but the ghost was already gone.

"that was your friend?" Sans said bewildered.

Frisk nodded frantically and pulled him up the path, "They live up this way."

Sans' kept pulling them back, glancing around, tense as a cat.

Frisk lightly knocked on Blook's door before opening it and walking down the narrow hallway. "Hello? Blook?"

Blook looked up from their computer, their mouth a little, o, of surprise, "oh... you came..." they looked down at the floor, "sorry, i... wasn't expecting that. it's not much but make yourself at home."

"This is Sans. He's my friend." Frisk said.

"...nice to meet you. i'm napstablook."

"how'd you meet frisk?" Sans asked, leaning against the wall.

"oh... in the ruins."

"that so."

Frisk interrupted hesitantly, "...Blook would it be alright if I hung out with you for a little while?"

"well... if you want" they smiled weakly. "i don't really have anything here though..."

"Could I listen to your music?" Frisk asked.

Blook nodded, perking up a bit. "what do you like...?"

"All the things, please."

"if you're gonna be here for a while, i'm just gonna go check where und-some things." Sans said, "i'll be back."

Frisk nodded and waved.

Sans returned a half an hour later looking drained. "...what are you doing?" he asked.

Frisk and Blook were laying in the middle of the floor staring at the ceiling.

"laying on the ground feeling like garbage." Frisk said.

"...it's a family tradition..." Blook added. "do you want... to join us?"

Frisk patted the floor beside them.

Sans stared at them, then shrugged, and laid down on the floor beside Frisk, sticking his hands in his pockets. "you having fun?" he asked.

Frisk glanced over at him, "just wait." they assured him

Sound slowly faded and the world seemed to get darker, and slower. Each breath felt deeper and when Frisk closed their eyes they felt like they were floating in the middle of space. It felt endless and infinity peaceful.

The silence was broken by the trilling of Sans' cellphone. He pulled it out and looked at the display, "...it's been an hour? wow," he clicked the speaker on and set the phone down between them, "hey pap." Sans said.

"WHY AREN'T YOU AT YOUR STATION?"

"we're on break."

"SANS!"

"alright, alright, we'll be right there." he heaved himself up with a groan, "come on kid, before pap pops a knuckle."

Frisk stood up and stretched, "Tanks Blook. It was nice to see you again."

"s-sure...come by again... if you want." Blook said.

Sans held the door open for Frisk, "you feel better now? you look better."

Frisk nodded.

San's took them through a shortcut back to the ruin's exit sentry station. He sat down at the sentry station, propped his feet on the counter and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"I SAID NO SLEEPING!" Papyrus yelled as he stomped up the path.

Sans opened one eye, "it's the kid's shift."

Frisk waved.

Papyrus stomped his foot, "SANS!"

Sans' slid his feet off the counter and replaced them with his elbows. He propped his hands under his chin, "how'd the meeting with undyne go?"

"SHE- GOOD...?" he furrowed his brow, "SHE RUSHED OFF RIGHT AFTER I TOLD HER THE HUMAN ESCAPED."

"thought of any master plans?"

"NOT YET, IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!" He nyehed, "I NEED TO GET BACK SOON... I NEED TO FIND UNDYNE AND MAKE SURE SHE IS NOT HERE. SO I NEED YOU TO STAY HERE SO I CAN KEEP HER NOT HERE."

"alright. we'll stay put. don't work yourself down to the _bone_."

"JUST SO LONG AS YOU _BONE_ UP ON YOUR GUARD DUTY WHILE I'M GONE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus quipped and trotted back towards Snowdin.

Sans chuckled to himself, "pretty good."

Frisk knocked on the counter.

"what's up, kiddo?" Sans asked.

"Wanna go for a walk."

"where you off to?"

"I wanna sit by the river..." Frisk point up to where the path split, "I'll be careful."

"yeah? pinkie swear?" he held up one boney pinky and wiggled it.

Frisk smiled and linked pinkies, "pinkie swear."

"alright."

They walked up the path to the river and sat down on the river bank, watching the dark water rushing by.

Frisk steeled themselves and took a deep breath, "Chara?" They felt a stirring in the back of their mind, a swelling of uncertainty and fear.

"I-" Frisk swallowed and hesitated, "I'm..." they twisted a loose thread between their fingers and whispered, "...I'm sorry."

... _you-_ Chara gave a choked, hoarse laugh, _you can't- you just! ...i can't believe you. ...it's my fault! It's all my fault! You can't_ apologize _to me!_

"you said you didn't mean to do it..."

… _yeah,_ they agreed reluctantly, _but i-_

"and you said you were sorry...so many times..." Frisk felt themselves beginning to tear up and hurriedly blinked them away, "and I pushed you away. I left you alone when you were as scared as me."

Chara scoffed, _what? i was fine. i deserved it for what i did. I deserved it._

"No, you didn't!," Frisk wrapped their arms around their chest, "...I was mean..."

 _you don't have a mean bone in your body._

"that's not fair." Frisk said softly.

 _...yeah, maybe...i guess...if you want to apologize you can..._

Frisk took a deep breath, "I'm really sorry, Chara."

 _...it's ok. ...i'm sorry i got you into this mess._

"I missed you a lot."

 _i-...me too._

"Can I ask you a question?" Frisk asked.

 _You can ask me anything you want._

"From the beginning the nightmares weren't all mine were they?"

 _...no..._

"Hey, Chara..." Frisk sniffed, "you never s-stopped talking to m-me after we escaped the barrier, did you?"

 _don't cry... you're such a cry baby_

"...chara..." Frisk tried to wipe their eyes, "...I'm so sorry... I left you alone..."

 _cut it out, you already apologized remember?_

"yeah, but..."

 _It's fine, it's different now, isn't it?_

"Yeah," Frisk wiped their eyes, "we're friends now."

 _…_

"Chara?"

 _You consider me a friend? Even after everything i've done?_

"of course."

Chara laughed, _despite everything, you're still you._

Frisk smiled. They picked at a thread on the jacket, "I have an idea... if I tell you, will you promise not to laugh?"

 _Ok, i promise not to laugh._

"I was thinking... maybe... we could save him?" they pulled the thread free, "...save Azzy."

Farther up the path Frisk could hear the distant sounds of a Icecap and a Snowdrake laughing. Frisk let the string go and watched it drift slowly to the ground. A clump of snow flumped off a tree branch.

…... _i...i..._

An intense mix of disbelief, hope, fear and elation washed over Frisk. They shivered and let out a shuddery breath.

... _i don't-_ They whispered, _i-i'm so scared of- every time i do anything someone i love ends up hurt...i don't want to hurt anyone anymore._

"What if I want to do it?" Frisk asked softly, "Will you help me?"

 _…..._

Frisk squeezed their scarf tightly in their hands.

Chara chuckled weakly, _i'd do anything for you, dummy..._

Frisk let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding, "I'm scared too." they said, "but I want to do it. If I have to do it all over again, I want to do it better... I want to save _everyone_."

 _I have a feeling I know the answer to this but, do you have a plan?_ Chara asked.

Frisk opened their mouth then hesitated, "...I don't wanna say it out loud. Will you please switch with me?"

 _Ok?_ Chara took control of Frisk's body. " _Spit it out._ "

He just needs one soul... Frisk said, and Pop-pop has six.

" _But- No! We won't be able to break the barrier!_ "

We can break the barrier later, Frisk said, We'll all be together, Chara, if we're together then everything will be better!

"FRISK?"

They jumped and hurriedly got to their feet.

"they're right up here, bro."

Papyrus trotted around the corner, "ARE YOU READY FOR THE SPAGHETTI FEAST!?"

Frisk took control again and nodded.

"I AM VERY EXCITED AS WELL!" He picked them up and set them on his shoulders, "SANS SAID YOU WERE FEELING BETTER?"

"Uhuh." Frisk said.

"WONDERFUL! NYEH HEH HEH!"

They all marched home together and made a wonderful spaghetti feast. Frisk made the noodles and Papyrus made the sauce and both were very nice, Sans even ate his. They watched tv together, though Frisk and Sans slept through most of it.

Upstairs, Papyrus' moved his mattress onto the floor and Sans mattress, with fresh sheets, was put beside it. All sorts of blankets were scattered across the bed amalgam.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY INGENIOUS PLAN?" Papyrus asked, "I CALL IT, 'THE GREAT PAPYRUS' NO MORE NIGHTMARES' PLAN!"

"Amazing!" Frisk said bouncing into the middle and burrowing under the blankets.

"it's kinda like a sleep over. haven't had one of those since I was a baby bone." Sans said plopping onto his mattress.

Frisk popped up and engulfed Sans in a blanket, "Gotchu!"

"yep. one hundred percent trapped. never gonna escape."

Frisk giggled.

"YOU ARE NOT EVEN TRYING!"

Frisk wrapped themselves in a blanket and grabbed Papyrus' leg.

"AH! THE HUMAN HAS CAPTURED ME!" He sank to his knees, "I CANNOT ESCAPE! THEY'RE TOO STRONG!" He collapsed on the mattress.

They threw a blanket over him.

"I AM DEFEATED!"

"well, you got us. what are you gonna do now?" Sans asked with a grin.

Frisk crawled up to Papyrus' head and pressed their forehead to his. They crawled over to Sans and did the same, "boop."

Sans stared at them and shook his head slightly, "you're too much kid." he smiled.

They plopped down in the middle of the bed, pulled a blanket up to their chin and held up both arms, "Hands!" they demanded.

"what's this now?"

"Hands!" Frisk repeated impatiently.

Papyrus and Sans both obediently held up their hands. Frisk reached out and took one in each hand and squeezed them tight.

a/n: There will be an update on Saturday as per usual.

Please consider reviewing and faving this story if you like it, it helps increase the story's visibility and I would really like for more people to read it. Thank you!


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.

Chapter Ten

"Papyrus!"

Frisk startled awake.

"Papyrus!" It was Undyne. She pounded on the front door, her armor clanking against the wood.

Frisk looked around franticly.

"follow me, kid." Sans said with a yawn, pulling on his robe and slippers.

"SANS?!" Papyrus shouted.

Sans put a finger to his mouth, "shh. i'll take the kid to my room. she won't look in there." He beckoned Frisk to follow him.

They went to Sans room and locked the door behind them.

"Light?" Frisk whispered.

"safer not too." he said.

Frisk reached forward in the dark, "s-sans." they cringed at their voice shaking.

Sans caught their hand and pulled them close, throwing his arm over their shoulder and ruffling their hair.

They could hear Papyrus clattering downstairs. Undyne's pounding got louder.

"U-UNDYNE!?" Papyrus opened the door, "WHAT'S WRONG?"

"Where's the human?!" Undyne demanded, "There are rumors going around that they're here!"

"IN SNOWDIN?" Papyrus stammered.

"NO, IN YOUR HOUSE!" She snapped. Her footsteps echoed throughout the room as she pushed by Papyrus and began searching the house.

Frisk stiffened as she clattered up the stairs. Sans squeezed their shoulder. The door to Papyrus' room slammed open. There was a loud crash as something flew across the room followed by a thwack as she pulled over Papyrus's bookshelf. Frisk and Sans could hear her opening and going through Papyrus' closet.

"UNDYNE I DON'T-! I'M NOT SURE-! THE HUMAN ISN'T HERE!" Papyrus pleaded.

Her steps came down the hall.

The doorknob rattled.

"Why's it locked?!" Undyne demanded.

"THAT'S SAN'S ROOM."

Her fist slammed against the door. "OPEN IT."

Frisk flinched.

Sans shifted his grip so that he was holding Frisk's arm and took a step back.

"I- SANS' KEEPS IT LOCKED-"

"NGAHH!" A metal fist smashed through the door like it was tissue paper.

Frisk landed in a snow bank. Sans landed beside them, stumbling slightly, but more or less on his feet.

He pulled Frisk from the snow and brushed the snow from their back and hair, "sorry about that. it can be tricky to take shortcuts from the second floor."

Frisk clumsily brushed the snow off their shirt with shaking hands. They had landed next to the snow papyrus sculpture and snow lumps below the ice button puzzle.

"that was pretty nerve wracking huh?"

Frisk made a tight little nod.

"...you ok?"

Frisk smiled weakly.

Sans rubbed his skull awkwardly, "need a hug?"

They shook their head reluctantly.

Sans sighed, "come here." he opened his arms.

Frisk stumbled forward, grabbing his robe with trembling fingers. Sans awkwardly wrapped his arms around them and patted their back. "pap'll come get us soon, so we'll just hang out til then."

They shivered in their thin pajamas.

"here." Sans stepped out of his slippers and took off his bathrobe, putting it over their shoulders. He guided them into his slippers. "not the best solution, but you won't freeze. if i have to i'll pop you over to hotland until we regroup."

"thank you."

Sans wrapped the bathrobe tighter around them and tied it closed. "...what kind of math do snowy owls like?" He asked with a grin.

Frisk looked at him in confusion and shook their head.

"owlgebra!"

They hugged their arms tight across their chest, smiling despite themselves.

Sans asked another, "what do snowmen call their kids?"

Frisk shrugged.

" _chill-_ dren!"

They chuckled. A shiver ran down Frisk's spine and they grimaced.

He quickly threw out another one, "What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?" he he paused with a grin, "...Frostbite!"

" _More like a batcicle._ " Chara muttered though their chattering teeth.

Sans' brows perked up and let out a heh despite himself.

" _Snow joke they'd be dead cold."_ Chara continued, encouraged by Sans' reaction, " _but you can't put them in the sun or they'd have a total meltdown... You bat-er believe it would really suck, they'd have to flake out, and put their plans on ice while they pulled themselves back together... Blood you don't have to believe me, i have no stake in the story._ "

Sans snorted, and quickly covered his mouth but the snort was followed by a low rumble of a laugh that only grew with each breath. The laughing would taper off only to start back up again after he'd repeat one of the puns out loud and revel in it all over again.

 _Sorry, I got carried away._

Frisk shrugged, grinning madly at the sight of Sans laughing so hard. They felt Chara's satisfaction mix with their own happiness. They couldn't remember if they had ever seen him laugh like that before.

Frisk heard the sound of boots crunching through snow approaching and looked up to see Papyrus running towards them, his arms full of clothing. Frisk smiled and made a small wave, tapping their finger to their lips and then pointing at Sans. Papyrus stopped in his tracks and stared at Sans, his whole face relaxing.

 _They care about each other so much...it's just so..._ Chara struggled for the words. They sighed and poured the emotion into Frisk, it had many different colors to it, fondness, jealousy, love, compassion, an intense protectiveness, and a tinge of sadness.

Frisk nodded.

As Sans' laughter ebbed, Papyrus walked down the path and scooped Frisk up with one arm, and Sans up with the other. Holding them tight to his chest.

"whoa, bro! when'd you get here?"

"JUST NOW." He squeezed them one more time then let go. "I BROUGHT YOUR COATS." He held them out.

Sans took Frisk's orange jacket, "the kid should wear mine." He pulled the coat on, the sleeves didn't reach his wrists and he would've been hard pressed to zip it closed.

Sans grabbed the white knit hat and tore the bobble off the top of it and pushed it on Frisk's head, carefully tucking any stray hair under the hat out of sight. Papyrus helped Frisk out of the bathrobe and into the blue jacket. The scarf wrapped around their head, obscured most of their skin.

Sans slipped his slippers back on. "do you know where undyne is?"

"SHE WAS SEARCHING THE OTHER HOUSES WHEN I SNUCK OUT HERE."

"hmmm..." Sans scratched his head. "well, for now it should be safe to go back to the house so frisk can change." He took Frisk and Papyrus' hands and lead them though a shortcut into the living room.

Papyrus went around and peeked out the windows, drawing the curtains shut behind him, "SHE'S NOT AROUND, I THINK- HOPE."

"alright," sans stuck his hands in his pockets, "you take care of frisk, i'll try to catch undyne's eye and lead her into waterfall." he grinned at his little joke, giving Frisk a wink.

"ARE YOU SURE?" Papyrus tapped his fingers together nervously.

"for now, we just need to get her away from frisk." Sans said, "we might have to go into hiding if this keeps up."

"CAN'T WE JUST GO TALK TO THE KING? I'M SURE IF WE ASKED VERY NICELY HE WILL TELL UNDYNE TO STOP."

"no, he'll kill me." Frisk said.

Silence that seeped into the room, heavy and cold.

"I-I'M SURE- THE KING IS A SOFTY, HE'D- HE'D NEVER DO THAT..." Papyrus stuttered.

Sans was staring at them.

Frisk looked down at the ground, "...yeah, acourse." they said softly. "I'm gonna go change."

"...i better get going, i'll find you guys later." Sans said.

"WATCH OUT FOR UNDYNE'S SPEARS!" Papyrus said, "THEY'RE VERY POINTY!"

"i will, pap." sans said, pulling the front door shut behind him.

Frisk tapped up the stairs and went into Papyrus's room. The bookcase had been pulled over, the race car bed frame was on the other side of the room and all the shelves in the closet had been thrown onto the ground. Frisk carefully stepped through the chaos, after a little searching they found their clothes and changed.

"...I think we need to go." Frisk said softly, grabbing their bag from the corner of the closet.

 _Everything is getting bad._ Chara agreed. They sounded just a little bit sad. _If Sans' does lead her into Waterfall maybe we can do things the same way we did before._

Frisk nodded, "Once we reach Hotland we can befriend her and then things won't be scary anymore." They placed their hand over their soul, "Just a little bit more."

Frisk looked down at their hand and concentrated, their soul flashed red under their hand. It was easier this time. Their hope was still nineteen. Frisk frowned.

 _...How'd you do that?_ Chara asked, _I didn't know humans could call up their soul like that._

"You never did it?" Frisk asked, pulling their backpack on.

 _No. i never fought monsters. i always had Azzy with me. Toriel was the only one checked my soul, like when i got hurt or sick..._

"It's really hard to do. It makes my head hurt." They said as they opened the door.

Papyrus was kneeling on the couching, peeking anxiously through a tiny gap in the curtain. He glanced over at them as they came down the stairs. "UNDYNE RAN OFF TOWARDS WATERFALL... SHE MUST HAVE SPOTTED SANS." he was frowning very slightly, "IT'S FINE! MY BROTHER MAY BE LAZY BUT HE'S VERY GOOD AT DODGING!"

They lay San's jacket over the arm of the couch.

"Hey pap?" Frisk tugged on his scarf. "I wanna tell you a story."

"THIS ISN'T REALLY THE TIME FOR BEDTIME STORIES." He said, closing the gap in the curtain and squeezing it shut anxiously

Frisk continued anyway, "Once, you fought me in the mist outside of Snowdin. After you let me go I went through Waterfall. Undyne chased me the whole way and it was really scary but once I reached Hotland she realized I wasn't a bad person. Then you helped me be friends with her and everything was ok."

Papyrus slid down into the couch, "IT'S VERY STRANGE..." He furrowed his brow, "THE STORIES YOU TELL ME, I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I'VE HEARD THEM BEFORE, BUT I HAVN'T!"

Frisk smiled hesitantly, "So I was thinking, maybe if I do it again, you can help me be friends with her again. And if we're friends then Undyne won't try to capture me."

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT WAS A STORY! STORIES AREN'T REAL; SANS HAS EXPLAINED IT TO ME MANY TIMES."

"Yeah..." Frisk looked at their feet, "it's just a story now but it was real..."

 _Frisk!_ Chara scolded.

"sorry..." they muttered.

"BUT IT'S NOT A BAD PLAN... IT WOULD BE BETTER WITH MORE PAPYRUS IN IT THOUGH!"

Frisk hesitated, but Chara shook their head.

 _i'd like him to come too but we can't change too many things. If things change too much we won't be able to predict what will happen._

Papyrus looked crestfallen.

"It'll work, I promise." Frisk squeezed his hand, "and if it doesn't work I can call and you'll come rescue me, right?"

"OF COURSE! NYEH!" His smile faded and slipped from his face. Frisk had never seen him so worried.

They took a deep breath and closed their eyes and squeezed their hands into fists.

 _You're filled with determination..._

They felt the point in time become more real and solid, like a pin on map, a pin in this moment in time. Frisk nodded and relaxed. "I'm ready."

"PROMISE YOU'LL CALL?" Papyrus knelt down and hugged them.

"I'll be back really soon!" Frisk reassured him.

"IF YOU NEED ANYTHING JUST CALL AND I'LL BE RIGHT THERE."

"I will, promise." they squeezed his hand, "it's going to ok, Pap."

They walked outside together and he hugged them again, trying really hard not to look worried. Frisk waved goodbye to him and practically ran through the mist. Cold air gave way to the heavy cool humidity of Waterfall. Sans wasn't at his second sentry station.

MK was there though, and ran over excitedly when they saw Frisk, "Yo! Are you sneaking out to see her too? She ran by this way just a little while ago..." They pointed deeper into Waterfall with their tail, "She's the coolest, right?! I wanna be just like her when I grow up! Hey, don't tell my parents I'm here." They laughed.

Frisk nodded and hiked their bag higher on their back. They gave a brief wave and hurried to the rushing waterfall.

 _You ok?_

Frisk stared at the rushing water filled with rocks and branches being thrown down from above. They tried to feel brave, tried their hardest not to feel overwhelmed and afraid. It had seemed easier back at the house with Papyrus but now...

They looked at their feet.

 _If you need me to take over i can._

Frisk shook their head.

Chara cleared their throat awkwardly. Frisk giggled, touching their neck. They grinned together.

 _The tutu is hidden behind this waterfall._

"Oh!" Frisk glanced at the rushing water and hopped as far out as they could, hurrying through the water to try and avoid as much falling debris as they could. A large branch caught their leg and they hissed in pain, hopping around it. The water poured over them as the went into the little alcove behind the curtain of water. The pink tutu was sitting in a sad little crumple at the back of the cave. Frisk picked it up and stuffed it in their bag, double checking to make sure it was fully closed before leaving. They tripped over a rock fell into the rushing current, barely catching catching themselves on their hands, the rough stones on the bottom digging into their palms. They scrabbled to the shore and sat down with a huff, nursing their hands gingerly.

 _Are you hurt?_

Frisk put their hand over their soul and it blazed red for a second, "eighteen."

 _You should've grabbed something to eat before we came out here..._

They sighed and nodded, "forgot breakfast again, too." Fisk pulled their shirt off and rung it out before pulling it back on with a shiver. "wish I could do fire magic..."

 _i think next time you have an idea maybe we should sit down and_ actually _make a plan._

Frisk grimaced.

 _You're just a little impulsive. i mean, it's all worked out so far, but with a little more planning it might have been less painful for you._

Frisk nodded.

They unzipped their bag and excitedly put the tutu on. They spun in a circle, watching the pink tulle swirl around them and giggled.

 _Come on ballerine, let's keep moving._

Frisk pulled their bag back on and headed down the path, slowing to the tiptoe as they approached the tall patch of grass below the cliff. They slipped into the grass and waited with baited breath but heard neither Undyne or Papyrus above them.

 _They're not here... Sans being a decoy must've changed some things_

Frisk edged out of the grass, straining their ears for any noise.

"Yo!" MK burst out of the grass behind them.

"eep!" Frisk jumped, their heart beating a mile a minute.

"Did you think she'd be here too? Oh well, I'm sure she'll be up ahead!" They ran ahead, falling onto their face, popping right back up and running off.

 _Geez. For such a klutz, MK moves like a ninja sometimes._

"yeah." Frisk trotted after MK, losing sight of them when they leapt over the next gap and disappeared deeper into the cavern. Frisk grabbed one the bridge flowers on the side of the river and floated them out to make a path. Once four of them touched, they sprang to life, vines swelling and curling out to grab onto their neighbors, the buds unfurling into large, hardy flowers the size of dinner plates.

 _Oh! These plants are super interesting!_ Chara said excitedly, _They won't bloom unless the conditions are exactly right, for years even! Once four or more come in contact, and they're in water at least two inches deep, they lash together and bloom. Then when animals or monsters walk across them they spread the pollen from one plant to the other. They produce their seeds on the top of the leaf rafts and some are carried away by those that walk across them and some wash downstream when the plant dies._

Frisk held out their arms for balance and carefully walked across the flower bridge, "Are they magic plants?"

 _Kinda?_ Chara said uncertainly, _The plants were a lot smaller, when the monsters first went through Waterfall, and took a lot longer to bloom. Asgore's old journals on them were kind of unhelpful. He wasn't as interested in plants then..._

"Do you really like plants?"

 _Oh. sorry. ...i-i must be boring-_

"I think it's neat!" Frisk said, picking up the next bridge flower for the second puzzle. "I don't know a lot about plants." They set it in the water and pushed it into place.

 _Plants are nice..._ They murmured, _they never hurt you..._

Frisk squeezed the bridge flower to their chest.

 _Unless they have thorns... but even thorns are kinda pretty. They're strong and protect them._ Chara said, _None of the plants in the underground have thorns or sting like nettles. There aren't any predators down here so they don't need to defend themselves... i suppose just surviving in such an environment is challenge enough._

Frisk placed the fourth flowers and walked across to the other side, ducking into the cave entrance to the next room. Beautiful blue white crystals caught what little light was in the room and reflected in back in a blaze as bright as any star. The sign affixed to the wall read: Wishing Room.

"I love this room." Frisk said with a smile.

 _You should make a wish._

Frisk screwed up their face in thought, closed their eyes and said solemnly, "I wish that everyone could be happy and safe and together."

 _Hmhph_ Chara snorted, _you're so-_

"What about your wish? Do you want to save Azzy?" Frisk asked.

 _No. I want to save you._

Frisk flushed.

 _You don't have to be that embarrassed,_ Chara said hurriedly, sounding flustered themselves, _I mean like keep an eye out for you n' stuff, geez._

Frisk patted their cheeks, "Thank you." They whispered and looked up at the sparkling 'stars' once more before walking on.

They slid the stone panel door out of the way and stepped out. The cave lead out to one of the large flooded, marsh sections of Waterfall, a boardwalk had been built leading to the next section of solid ground. Old stone plaques were attached to the wall along the path, the runes lit with glowing crystal. Frisk touched the first one, tracing the faded letters.

 _i don't like these..._ Chara said softly.

Frisk dropped their hand and hurried down the pier to the little raft at the end. They tried not to look at the plaques on the wall but found their eyes drawn to the last plaque with a strange and horrible monster carved onto the stone surface. Frisk felt Chara's shudder and quickly looked away. They crawled onto raft and pushed off the dock towards the the dock on the other side.

"Where did you learn how to read runes?" Frisk asked as the floated slowly across.

 _...Toriel and Asgore knew how to read them, they taught me... they taught me a lot of things..._

The raft bumped into the dock and Frisk scrabbled off. They stared down the pier and shivered. She was here. They could feel it. Frisk crumpled their tutu in their hands.

 _She's just going to throw spears. You dodged them last time. It was easy, you'll be fine. i'll watch your back, ok?_

Frisk slowly relaxed their grip on the tulle and took a few deep breaths, steeling themselves. They quelled the urge to run. Their steps seemed too loud, too heavy against the wooden slats, filling the cavern with the sound. Out of the corner of their eye they saw the dull glint of light catching metal. The taste of the air across their tongue became sharp with the tang of Undyne's magic. A soft glow brightened the room with blue.

 _RUN!_

Frisk could feel the heat of the spears on their back as they bolted down the pier. They smashed into the wood around Frisk. They gasped air tasting of acid.

 _Go right!_

Frisk lurched right, an ion blue spear cut past their cheek. They tumbled on to the hard wood and twisted away as another three spears slammed into the pier in a shower of splinters. A splinter of wood snicked along their arm leaving a blossom of pain in its wake.

Frisk stumbled back to their feet. Armor creaked as Undyne raised her arm and there was a flash of blue.

 _Come on!_ They felt Chara flood into them, strong and certain and picked them up. They were in Frisk's arms and legs, easing the shaking and the pain in their lungs. Chara ran with an ease Frisk never had. They dodged smaller, in sharp little movements, Chara's steps never faltered.

We're made it! Frisk said.

Rough grass closed over their head, sinking the world into darkness. Their foot caught on something and they tripped. Footsteps getting closer. Frisk curled in tight and small on the ground.

 _Don'tmovedon'tmovedon'tmove-_

Undyne's armor creaked. The grass hissed as she moved through it. The darkness moved closer. Boots grinding against the soil. Frisk held their breath.

Her arm slammed down, and lifted MK into the air. MK beamed at her almost vibrating with excitement. She sighed and shook her head, putting the little monster down and stomping back the way she had come.

Frisk slowly uncurled and lay on their back in the grass, staring up at the distant sparkling ceiling through the grass.

MK popped into their field of view, hovering over them, "Did you see!? Undyne just touched me!" they crowed, "I'm never washing my face again! Man, you're unlucky! If you had been just a little to left-" They grinned cheekily, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see her again!" They disappeared through the grass. Frisk could hear MK trip and face plant into the dirt and a wobbly smile crept onto their face.

 _We tripped on MK's tail, i don't even- that scared the shi-rt off me._

Frisk pressed their hands to their face and giggled. Their laughter slowly dissolved into fast, shallow breaths, then calmed. They pushed themselves up on their elbows. Their arm twinged. Frisk tugged at their shirt, pulling the bloody fabric from the cut in their arm.

"It's not very deep." Frisk said taking their backpack off and digging around in the bottom of the bag. They pulled out a scrap of paper with a old bandage stuck on it. Frisk peeled it off and carefully pressed it over the cut so it would hold it closed. "...I wasn't sure it would work one more time." they said, pleased.

 _How many times have you used that thing?_

Frisk shrugged and climbed to their feet. They pushed their way out of the grass and paused for a moment, grinning, "Chara, your wish came true! You saved me."

 _You missed the point, i just speared you a little trouble._

Frisk giggled as they walked by the crystal covered cheese. They paused in front of Sans' telescope. He wasn't there, Frisk touched the eyepiece, there wasn't even red ink on it yet.

"hey kid. took me a while to find you." Sans said behind them.

Frisk turned, and stiffened.

Sans was... something was off about him; his hands weren't in his pockets and his smile seemed gratis rather than genuine. The look in his eye made Frisk shiver.

"we need to have a chat."

(a/n: Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger. Writing was a bit of a struggle this week but I'm optimistic that it will improve. There may be more typos than usual since I just finished writing it. Anything else... I decided to use ballerine as the gender neutral form of ballerina/o because it sound pretty.

I randomly reply to reviews so if you don't want me to reply, feel free to slap a dnre (do not reply) on it and I shall simply confine my eternal gratitude to my heart.)


	11. Chapter 11

a/n: Surprise Chapter!

Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.

Chapter 11

"pap has been telling me some interesting things, stories..." Dirt ground under Sans slippers as he shifted his weight, "stories about things that haven't happened but seem uncannily familiar. funny thing that." he chuckled humorlessly, "everything about you seems familiar... i did some asking around, pap, the royal guard, the people in town...me, we've all felt like we'd already met you when you first showed up. then you just breeze through every puzzle, every encounter like you know them already..."

Frisk stared at him with wide eyes, panic bubbling just under the surface. "not here." they stuttered.

"what's that?" Sans' asked, narrowing his eyes.

"...could be listening." they swallowed hard.

"who?"

Frisk bit their lip and said the first thing that came to their mind, "have you ever heard of a talking flower?"

Sans pupils shrank and he waved his hand through the air. All sound stopped. The water stood still, "pap tell you?"

Frisk worried the edge of their jumper in their fingers. The silence prickled across their skin.

"no one can hear us, so talk."

"You told me." Frisk said softly.

He shook his head, "kid, i think i'd remember telling you that."

"it's just a story now..." they glanced up at him then back down at their shoes.

"more stories. what are you getting at?" his tone was still calm as flat water.

 _i'm not sure we should._

"I don't know." Frisk said, trying hard to keep the wobble out of their voice.

 _But we can't make him forget either, not without starting all over again..._

Frisk shook their head very slightly, blinking back tears at the thought.

Sans waited, watching them with the focused stillness of a cat.

 _He'd probably figure it out eventually no matter what you say...Sans is ou-your friend, now and before. He can be scary but ...it should be ok..._

They took a deep breath and tried again, "If it was only real to me, if it's something only I remember, then it's just a story."

"hm." Sans mused, "you lost everything and had to start over again; that's what you said with the nice cream, right after we met."

Frisk nodded.

"i thought you meant falling into the underground but you meant something else."

Frisk nodded again.

Sans sighed and relaxed a little, stretching his head from one side to another, his neck popping loudly in the silence, "you've given me some of the pieces of the puzzle here, but i'm gonna need some more information, a corner or an edge to build on, or you could just give me the front of the box. that would be nice."

"I-I..." they squeezed their shirt tight in their hands, "I can save points in time and go back to them."

Sans went very still.

Frisk went on "S-something happened and I had to start over from when I fell, I h-had to do it all again..." They bit their lip and tried not to cry.

"you can manipulate time." Sans said flatly.

"i-i don't know how... when I get determined-"

"determination?" he hissed, for a second it almost looked like one of his eyes flashed blue.

Frisk froze. They had never heard Sans sound like that. They managed the very slightest of nods.

"...the reports..." he muttered, "timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..." his eyes went black.

Frisk took a step back.

"it's your fault, isn't it." Sans' voice was cold and deep; "You think this is a Game? You think you can just Screw with time? Mess with everyone's lives like we're Toys?!" and filled with pain.

Frisk was trembling.

"People build their lives and you just tear them apart whenever you Feel Like It?!"

Tears ran down their cheeks.

They felt Chara rise up like a wave, flooding their body with heat and violent fury. They pushed Frisk aside, their face twisting into a snarl, " _Do you think this is what I wanted!? I didn't want this! I didn't want to hurt anyone!"_ they snapped with acid on their tongue _, "I couldn't feel myself! I only had dreams and fragments and I-!"_ Chara clutched their head, tangling their fingers in their hair, " _I felt something...,_ Chara, ... _for the first time in forever- I just- ,_ Chara, It's going to be ok, _I just didn't want to let go-!"_ their voice choked with despair. Frisk whispered, "it's ok, Chara. it's not your fault, _It is!_ " Chara laughed, a brittle painful laugh that verged on hysterics, " _If I had just let go. It's always my fault. I - ruin - everything._ " Frisk shook their head, tears streaming down their face. "...you're not a bad person for how you feel."

 _I miss him so much, Frisk._

"I know..."

Chara's rage swelled again, _Sorry Frisk, i'm gonna put you in the dark for a second,_ and they took control again and pushed Frisk down deep. They glared at Sans, " _AND YOU-! YOU go and yell at Frisk!_ " They snarled, " _This kid would never hurt anyone! They're so kind! They're so kind it's almost painful...!"_ Chara balled their hands into fists and hissed, _"If you ever threaten them again, I will hide their eyes and cover their ears and beat the ever loving shit out of you, understand? Don't you EVER hurt them!_ "

Frisk sucked in a startled breath, "Chara? What happened?" they blinked rapidly, "Everything went black and I couldn't hear..."

 _Sorry... I lost my temper for a bit. I'll try not to do it again._

Sans was staring at them.

Frisk flushed bright red, "I...um, it's just... s-sorry."

Sans put his hands in his pockets and then pulled them out again, rubbing his fingers against his thumbs with a soft tick-tick sound. "...what...was that...?"

"umm..." Frisk looked at their feet. " _i'm Chara._ " Chara said with a huff, " _i'm sort of possessing Frisk._ "

Sans face was frozen in a mixture of shock and disbelief. "since when?"

"Since I fell into the underground." Frisk said.

Sans stuffed his hands back in his pockets, "are they a monster?"

" _Ghosts can't inhabit a corporeal form with a soul already in it, bonehead._ "Chara said impatiently.

He nodded slightly, "you doing ok, kid?" Sans asked Frisk.

Frisk nodded, "Chara's my friend. They're really nice... and they're really good at puns."

"heh." Sans smiled a bit despite himself, "the batcicle joke. that was them, huh? i thought you sounded different."

Frisk could feel Chara's pleasure at the praise.

"well, if you like them, they can't be all bad."

Chara's pleasure turned sour.

"they're human?"

" _i am-was human._ "

"hmm." Sans said studying Frisk, "so, you're possessed by a brat, have enough determination to rewind time, and make friends as easy as breathing. nothing special then." he winked.

Frisk giggled and felt themselves begin to relax.

 _...i'm the brat?..._ Chara muttered.

"have you used your power to reload time since you got 'pulled back to the beginning'?" Sans asked.

Frisk shook their head. "no-"

Sans relaxed, a nonchalant grin crept onto his face.

"-I haven't died this time."

His breathing hitched, his pupils contracting into pinpoints.

Frisk smiled reassuringly. "I only ever reloaded when I died... I wasn't ready to give up yet."

"you, uh..." he cleared his throat. "that's good..."

" _Dieing? Not really. Contrary to popular belief it's actually very painful._ "

If a skeleton could blanche Sans would've been chalk white.

Frisk frowned, "Chara!" they scolded. "That's not what he meant."

Chara shrugged. _So he can just brush it off? Nah. If he's gonna flip out and yell at you for reloading then he should know what you went through._

"...geez." Sans sighed and rubbed his face. "you've been through a lot, huh?"

Frisk shrugged slightly.

"heh," Sans shook his head slightly, "you're a good kid." he said to himself more than Frisk. He waved his hand and sound came rushing back as the world began to move again, "have to take a break. that little trick takes a lot of energy and I don't don't have a lot on me." he opened his jacket as if to illustrate.

" _just a bag of bones, full of hot air._ "

"That wasn't funny." Frisk said.

" _funny to me._ "

"this is gonna take some getting used to," Sans said with a sigh.

"I don't like you two fighting." Frisk said.

Sans shrugged, "fine with me, i'm not the fighting type."

Chara remained sullenly silent.

"Chara." Frisk prodded. "Come on, please."

 _Fine._ They said sourly, " _i'll call a truce if he apologizes to you._ "

"...yeah... the brat has a point there." Sans rubbed the back of his skull, "i shouldn't have yelled at you like that before i got the whole story...sorry, frisk."

" _and treat you to a burger at Grillby's._ " Chara added, " _Frisk hasn't eaten at all today._ "

"that i can do." he gestured with his head. "shall we?"

Frisk grabbed the edge of Sans jacket and he stepped through- Frisk kept their eyes open this time, a white-blackness of endless nothing without sound, it made their eyes hurt and skin tingle- to Grillby's door.

Sans leisurely greeted the people in the bar with grins and easy small talk as they headed for the two empty bar stools. Frisk plopped onto the stool with a grin wiggling to make the woopee cushion pppbbtppbbttthh a loudly as possible.

Sans' raised a eyebrow. "two burgs." he told Grillby.

Frisk pulled the woopee cushion out and handed it to Sans.

"what, you think i'm the type of guy who'd put woopee cushions on someone's seat?" he said in mock outrage.

Frisk shrugged and pocketed it.

Grillby returned with burgers and Frisk very, very, carefully poured some ketchup on it and handed the bottle over to Sans.

Sans took a swig from the bottle, "you were hungry, huh?"

"mph." Frisk mumphed around a bite of burg.

"i'd like to talk some more, after this." Sans said, "i still have some questions."

Frisk nodded.

They sat in silence as Frisk ate their burger and Sans' polished off the ketchup with a satisfied sigh. Sans begged off any conversation with the patrons as he and Frisk left Grillby's and he led them back towards his house.

"this way." he gestured, heading behind his and Papyrus' house.

There was a door back there that Frisk had never seen before. Sans unlocked the door, it opened to a set of stairs leading down.

" _This is like the start of a horror movie._ " Chara looked down into the gloom suspiciously, " _is this the part where i die? ...again, anyway._ "

"not quite, brat." Sans grinned and flipped on a light switch. "go on, just don't touch anything."

Frisk started down the stairs. " _Let's touch everything._ " Chara said. Frisk giggled.

Sans sighed and pulled the door shut, locking it behind him.

The stairs lead down to a small room with plum colored tiles and pale blue walls. A large object covered in a plum sheet sat in the corner of the room. There was a large work station built into the wall, papers and blueprints covering the surface, drawers lined up below. The only sound in the room was a faint electrical hum. It was immaculately clean and smelled faintly of disinfectant.

 _What the hel-heck is this place? This is... who is Sans?_

Frisk slowly turned in a circle on their heel, trying to take it all in.

"haven't spent much time in here lately." Sans said as he came into the room, he went over the the far wall and grabbed two stools, dragging them over to the counter. He sat down and swept all the papers to the side, patting the other stool. "might as well have a seat."

Frisk pulled themselves onto the stool.

"FfffthPbbbbtttPbbbtffththhhh..." Frisk pulled the woopee cushion out from under them and glared at Sans.

He grinned.

Chara flicked the pink rubber at him. It smacked against his forehead and slid down his face.

"That wasn't me!" Frisk said hurriedly.

"could've guessed that." Sans caught it before it fell the floor and stuck it in his pocket.

Chara cackled happily in the confines of Frisk mind.

"so, how long have you been able to save and reload points in time?" Sans asked.

"Since I fell into the underground." Frisk said softly.

"and how long has that been?"

"maybe..." they closed their eyes in thought, "two weeks... I guess."

Sans turned to the pile of paper and began leafing through them.

 _Hey, Frisk?_

Frisk nodded slightly.

 _i don't think we should tell him about Azzy...he's done a lot of bad things as Flowey and i'm not sure Sans would understand..._

Sans pulled a large graph print out in front of him and studied it, his eyes flicking back and forth across the different numbers.

s _orry...you can tell him if you want to._

Frisk chewed their lip.

Sans grabbed a pen and wrote something on the graph and pushed it back, "...ok, so can you tell me how your ability works?"

Frisk answered as best as they could but they had never really thought about it before other than the basic surface pieces. Sans asked so many questions that Frisk's head swam. His pen skittered across the page as he took notes.

" _Hey, i have a question for you._ " Chara said

"yeah?" Sans said absently.

" _Why'd you go off on Frisk like that?_ "

His pen stopped. "well...i'd be working on my... research, and have an intense sense of dejavu of having been there before, done the same thing before. i wasn't the only one who felt the deja vu, most people i interviewed had it to some extent but i was the only one who knew that it was real..." he sighed and set the pen down, "everyone around me continuing with their lives, doing the same thing over and over again only to have it pulled away." he looked at his hands, "i felt like a hamster in a wheel... i just couldn't convince myself to keep doing it." he pasted a tried smile on his face and picked up the pen again, "what are you going to do now?"

"I..." Frisk hesitated. "if everything goes like last time, then if I get to hotland, I can make friends with Undyne and she'll stop chasing me... I don't want you and Pap to have to go into hiding or get in trouble because of me."

"and after that?" Sans asked.

Frisk frowned and furrowed their brow, "...I dunno...I'm not very good at plans."

"what'd you do last time?"

Frisk shook their head.

" _Last time we ended up back here._ " Chara said, gesturing to the world in general, " _We need to make friends again and then do something, else..._ " Chara tapped their wrist, " _we've already spent a lot more time here than we should have. We can have more happy quiz time later._ "

Sans shrugged, "i can take you to hotland- "

Frisk shook their head, "it has to be like last time."

" _you're a wise guy right?_ _we've got to control all the variables we can if we're gonna replicate our results._ "

"do you even understand what you just said?" Sans asked.

Chara flushed, " _s-sort of! its been a while!_ "

"nah, you're right, brat. i just wanted to give you a hard time." Sans chuckled, "...wise guy."

Chara sighed and withdrew.

"Can we go back now?" Frisk asked.

Sans nodded and put his papers away.

He led them out of the basement and took them through a shortcut back to the telescope.

"you have my phone number?" Sans asked.

Frisk shook their head and pulled out their phone. Sans took it from them and saved his number, "call me if anything comes up or you need a quick escape." He handed it back to them, "you sure you don't need anything?"

"A nap."

"a nap?" Sans asked, "i mean i'm always up for a snooze but-"

Frisk grinned, "At the hotland sentry station. If you could be asleep when we come by it would really help."

"if you say so." Sans said with a shrug. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out some gold coins, he nodded to the little room just off the corridor, "get yourself some nice cream and...be careful with all that determination of yours." He dropped the gold in their hands and stepped back, disappearing in a blink.

"Do you want chocolate?" Frisk asked, curling their fingers around the coins.

 _Yes!_

A/n: I've been looking forward to this one for a long time so it was very easy to write. It's so exciting cause who Chara is with Frisk is very different from how they act around other people. Ah my sweet, sarcastic, caustic little child, I can't wait to see you bloom and flourish. Some people were very worried about Chara being discovered but since they've never gone a geno run in this au and no one really remembers Chara as the first child, I don't see why Frisk or Chara would be worried about it too much, except that it's a little weird. Really weird.

Regular update on Saturday. Special thanks for all the reviews. Some of the anon reviews were really, really wonderful, so Thank you a bucket load.


	12. Chapter 12

a/n: Sentences in _Italics_ are spoken by Chara.

-Dashes- around a sentence indicate a memory.

Chapter 12

Frisk touched the large pale white-blue petals of the echo flower. It was thicker and heavier than any flower petal they had ever seen on the surface, it felt kinda like a pancake.

 _The nice cream is melting._ Chara warned.

"You eat it."

" _Fine with me._ " Chara said licking the melted nice cream before the reached their hand. They sighed happily, " _i've missed chocolate._ "

Frisk grinned.

" _i know you prefer vanilla, we could've gotten that instead, or a swirl._ " Chara said nibbling on the bar.

I wanted you to have it, Frisk said, Sans... was really scary. I'm glad you were there.

" _yeah._ " Chara grinned, " _but it was kinda fun after. plus now i can talk to him._ "

Chara, why does the water glow here? Frisk asked.

" _The water here is really shallow and the sand in the bottom,_ " Chara knelt down and scooped up a handful of white, glittery sand and gravel, " _it has lots of white rock from when they built the capital and crystal pieces in it and it catches the light from the lamp trees so it looks like it's glowing._ " They poured the sand from their hand and shook the water off.

Lamp trees?

Chara pointed across the waterway to a strange short tree with a long trunk and a flared cone of leaves that glowed brightly at the bottom and faded as it went up. " _They don't normally glow that bright. They have to pump the plants full of magic to increase the glow so monsters don't walk off the path and end up with soggy socks._ "

Frisk giggled, Scandalous!

" _Scandalous, indeed._ " Chara said gravely. They ate the last of the nice cream and bit down on the stick, pulling it down until it broke. They folded the two pieces together and stuffed them into their pocket. " _Alright, ready to take over?_ "

Dun wanna, Frisk said, Tell me about echo flowers.

Chara smiled and walked along the path, spreading their hands wide as they walked so the grass and flowers could brush against their fingers. " _Echo flowers used to be smaller too, when monsters came to the underground, and they only held their echos for a little while. Curious animals would stick their head in the flowers looking for the sound and pick up pollen instead and then spread it around a bit. Echo flowers bloom for years so they have plenty of time to wait until they get pollinated._ "

But now the echo flowers are big and hold echos forever, Frisk said.

Chara nodded, " _Magic... maybe? Or maybe monsters just carry pollen better._ "

Whimsumfly? Maybe a Butterfroggit. Frisk suggested.

Chara snickered, " _do you spread butterfroggit on a moldbyggel?_ "

Frisk giggled.

Chara pushed through a tuft of tall grass at the end of the path and fished out the used ballet slippers and knocked the dust from them as gently as possible. Frisk wanted to put them on right away but Chara convinced them to wait until they left waterfall. " _especially with the garbage dump coming up, you never got rid of the smell last time._ "

Along the path they ran into Aaron and Chara had a mighty flexing contest with him which, they assured Frisk they had won. A passing Woshu was only to happy to clean Frisk who splashed around in the soapy water happily, leaving them damp and smelling faintly of lemons but squeaky clean. They happily chatted with Onion-san for almost a half an hour, sitting on the edge of Onion-sans' pool.

Then they met Shyren, pressed shyly into the corner of a small room and sang to her. Before they had only be able to hum a simple tune but this time, they knew the words and sang along. Their voice was wobbly and soft but Shyren made up for all the broken and missed notes, a smile on her sad face, her voice growing stronger and more confident with each verse. As they sang other monsters in the area gathered, cheering and clapping. Frisk wasn't certain, but thought they spotted Sans in the crowd with a roll of toilet paper in his hand. They sang until Frisk's voice started to get tired and Shyren gave them a thankful smile and a nod goodbye.

 _T_ _he constant attention... The tours... The groupies..._ Chara narrated with a sincerely overblown amount of drama, _You and Shyren have come so far, but it's time. You both have your own journeys to embark on._

The other monsters slowly dispersed leaving Frisk alone in the room. Ahead the room narrowed into a narrow chasm path reaching up into blackness and filled with the soft patter of water dripping onto stone. A patch of distant light beckoned. As they approached the sound of water grew louder and Chara grew quieter.

Set in a little alcove, bathed in a strange and rare beam of light from the surface, was a statue. It was carved of grey stone and shaped, first by monster hands and then by the falling rain, into a hunched figure sitting on the ground; all it's lines softened into silhouettes and suggestion. The only recognizable features left were a pair of horns atop its head. Horns for a child that had never grown to have them.

Frisk reached out and pressed their fingers against the statues head. Rain bounced off the back of their hand and ran down their arm. The stone was smooth and cold. Deep within the statue there was a faint creaking.

They walked further down the path until they came to the bin full of umbrellas and took one, carrying it back to the statue. Frisk carefully wedged the umbrella into the statues arm so it blocked the rain and somewhere deep inside something pinged. Gears ground, sand shifted with a gritty scraping sound and a slow, soft melody began to trickle out from inside.

 _Can we stay for a little while?_ Chara whispered.

Frisk sat down against the wall across from the statue and listened to the music and soft patter of water dripping onto the umbrella.

 _...This was his favorite song..._

Frisk pulled their knees up to their chest and hugged their legs.

 _...Azzy had this music box, he kept it next to his pillow and would wind it up before we went to bed or if i wasn't feeling well. i think it made him feel better more than me._

Frisk furrowed their brow and rested their head on their knees.

 _When i had nightmares he would let me sneak into his bed. i remember that song playing right beside my ear. ...i really like this song... but it makes me miss him._

They sat in silence.

"Why'd they make him look so sad." Frisk said softly, "I've never gotten to see him really be happy... even when he was smiling his eyes were so full of hurt."

 _hmmm_

Frisk head twinged.

 _Close your eyes._

Frisk closed their eyes. Their head throbbed.

\- " _Chara! Chara! Look, what I found!_ "-

- _Asriel barreled into them with all the force of his small fuzzy body and the two of them fell onto the ground in a tangled heap.-_

 _-"Azzy!" Chara cried in surprise.-_

 _-He sat up with a giggle and pulled them up to sit beside him, "Look!" he uncurled his hand to reveal a crystal, but unlike the clear, blue tinted crystals of the caverns, this one was a deep purple colour, "I found it in the river! Isn't it pretty!"-_

 _-Chara picked the stone up reverently and turned it in their fingers, "It's an amethyst, I think." Asriel was watching them expectantly, "It's ok." they said as they handed it back.-_

 _-"Chara!"-_

 _-They grinned, "It's beautiful, Azzy. It'll be the prize of your collection."-_

 _-Azzy glowed with delight and squeezed the stone tight in his hand.-_

Slowly the memory faded. Frisk shook their head and blinked. "Oh..." they wiped the tears from their cheeks and laughed in embarrassment.

 _A-are you ok? i didn't mean-_

"I'm ok!" Frisk sniffed. "I'm ok. Thank you for showing me."

 _why are you crying? did it hurt?_

"No!" Frisk assured them, "well a little but that's not it... sorry, it's silly," they hesitated, "it's just, you were so happy."

Chara made a drawn out, guttural groan of exasperation, _You wanted to see Azzy happy, remember? Remember when you said that? Not me- Azzy. You're so embarrassing._

Frisk giggled. "You're funny, Chara."

Chara groaned again, _Embaaaresssing!_

Frisk slowly stood up and stretched. They made their way back down the corridor and grabbed another umbrella, popping it open and putting it over their head as they walked. The pit-pat of water increased as they walked, dripping down from the ceiling.

They stopped at an alcove where the small yellow monster MK was sheltering from the wet, "Hello, MK."

MK perked up at the sound of their voice. "You got an umbrella? Awesome!" They trotted out and ducked under the umbrella with Frisk.

Frisk moved the umbrella to cover them better and walked slower so MK could keep up without tripping. They listened to the pitter-pat, tip-tap, splish-splash as they walked.

MK broke the silence, "Man, Undyne is sooooo cool." They crowed, "She beats up bad guys and NEVER loses. If I was human, I would wet the be every night knowing she was gonna beat me up!" They laughed.

Frisk smiled politely.

" _What if the human isn't a bad guy?_ " Chara asked. Frisk sucked in a breath and frowned.

MK gave them a strange look, "The humans attacked us first! They drove monsters underground! We wouldn't be here if it weren't for them!"

" _Yeah, so? Are all of them gonna be evil then? What if there's one good one?_ " Chara persisted.

"You're weird." MK said with a frown, "You're acting weird. Undyne is too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!"

The corridor suddenly opened up and off in the distance they could see the capital in the distance. The white stone that made up the buildings and the walls made the city seem as if it were gently glowing. Frisk and MK stopped briefly to look at it. As Frisk looked at it, they were suddenly reminded of the throne room, carpeted with golden flowers and Asgore's face as they turned towards them- Frisk shuddered and hurried on down the path, MK running to catch up. The path funneled into a narrow corridor once more and dead ended at a sheer wall, several feet above their head.

"The ledge is way too steep." MK said, running over to it and bouncing on their toes to try and see higher.

Frisk shook the umbrella off and and put it in the umbrella bin before walking over to join them.

"Yo...you really haven't seen Undyne yet, right?"

Frisk nodded.

"Well, climb on my shoulder then." MK said kneeling on the ground and bracing their head against the wall. When Frisk hesitated they added quickly, "Don't worry about me. I always find a way to get through."

Frisk carefully stepped onto MK's thin shoulder and pulled themselves up on the ledge.

MK popped up on their feet, "You go on ahead. Once you see how cool Undyne is, you'll understand!" They shook the rain from their face and ran back down the corridor.

Further up, the path veered into a new cave system, protected from the constant dripping. Frisk hurried into the dark before they got soaked. Ahead the way grew darker and darker, stone gave way to the wood of an elaborate catwalk built higgledy piggledy over a cistern of water. The faded marks on the wall showed that the water level had at one time risen to the height of the catwalks long ago.

Frisk leaned against the stone wall and took a deep breath.

 _Hey, can i... can i do this next part? Last time... i thought it looked kinda fun._

"It's not fun. It's scary." Frisk whispered.

 _Yeah but... can i?_

Frisk shrugged, then nodded. They placed a hand over their soul and focused, they felt it pulse gently beneath their fingers, and fixed this place in time. When they relaxed and dropped their hand they felt the moment shining like a candle in pitch black room. If they concentrated they could feel all the other points of time they had saved deeper in the past, dimmer, more distant, but still there. The brightest point, like Sirius on the horizon, was that bed of flowers beneath the broken mountain where it had all began.

 _Frisk?_

"I just had to save. You can go now."

" _What, you think i can't do it?_ " Chara said, carefully taking the tutu off and putting it away in their bag.

I died twice last time. Frisk said, I just wanna be careful.

Chara tightened the straps on the backpack and bounced on their toes, " _Ok ok-_ "

they took a deep breath, " _ok._ "

They stepped out onto the catwalk, watching their feet as they walked. A faint rattle of metal echoed from down below. Blue magic soaked into the wood and forced its way through the slats. Chara hopped out the way as the magic reformed into five blue spears. Chara ran ahead. The spears behind had barely begun to fade when ahead the wood began to glow once more. They hopped to the side and picked up their pace.

The spears kept up. The faster Chara moved, the faster they came. Blue light appeared in front of them. They hopped back, went around the side. Moved forward, jumped. They tried to remember where to go. A spear shot up on their left. They could feel the heat on their arm. Not forward, that was a dead end. Hard to breath. Air tasting like magic. Down, it had to be down. They sidestepped right, ran a few steps. Spears, they stepped back. Faster. Throat, lungs hurt. Having a body was hard. Light. Heat against their shoes. They bolted forward. Almost fell. On the right path now. Down and double back and straight on the enormous platform. Faster. Faster. Why was there a big platform here, it was stupid. More spears, more heat. Muscles burned. Like some sort of demented game of hopscotch. Jump left, then up, then wait. Run forward a few steps, hop back. Sweat trickling down their back. Is that why they thought it might be fun? Hopscotch? They laughed. Have to go faster. Can't stop laughing. Tried to slip through at an angle. Slipped dodging a spear and almost stepped off the catwalk. Bolt of pain down their leg as they pulled themselves back up. Throbbing. Clear, the way ahead was clear.

" _Oh, oh no._ " Chara whispered, reaching the end of the platform, hanging over darkness, " _no... i don't like this part._ " Their breathing became rough. They forced themselves to turn. Undyne was there. Walking towards them. A black silhouette of cold metal. Her every step reverberating through the room like a thunderclap. Chara forced themselves to walked towards her, to meet her. Their heart was pounding so hard it hurt. They searched her helmet for some sign of her eyes, of her. She brought her arm down. Spears rained down from the ceiling. They sliced through the catwalk like butter. Panic flooded their mind. There was a breaths moment of weightlessness and then falling. Falling. Falling. And blackness.

- _"It sounds like it came from over here."-_

- _Everything hurt. Wasn't even supposed to be ali-_

 _-"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you."-_

 _-They slowly forced their eyes open. Saw a kid? They laughed weakly and cringed when pain shot through their ribs. A kid, like a goat.-_

 _-"Are you okay?"-_

 _-The child, must be, they were small and had such a soft voice, was covered in white fur and had a snout and black pads on their fingers. They extended their hand to Chara.-_

 _-"Here, get up..."-_

 _-Chara reached out and hardly flinched at all when the goat child took their hand and help them to their feet. Chara would've thought maybe they were in some sort of weird afterlife but there wasn't supposed to be pain after you died.-_

 _-"M' Chara." They mumbled through gritted teeth, cradling their aching chest.-_

 _-"Chara, huh? That's a nice name." The goat kid said.-_

 _-Chara almost laughed again but bit their lip just in time. It hurt to breath.-_

 _-"My name is..."-_

(a/n: Sorry this is a bit of a short chapter. I'm thinking there's a 50/50 chance of there being a new chapter ready on wed. So I've decided to set up a tumblr just for this fic, on tuesday I'll post if there will or won't be an update on wednesday and then on post days I'll put up links to the new chapters;reachoutfanfic . tumblr . com)


	13. Chapter 13

(a/n: I made a few changes to the last chapter. Originally, I had Chara get their leg cut by Undyne's spear but I've since decided that magic only attacks the soul or other magic/magical entities, to try and make it more in line with the game. So instead, Chara slipped while running from Undyne and cut their leg on the catwalk, a piece of wood or the like.)

Chapter 13

Chara opened their eyes. Brilliant yellow flowers bobbed gently above them. They sat up with a start and looked around. They were at the garbage dump. A throb of pain went through their leg and they cringed.

" _Frisk?!_ "

'M here. Frisk said.

Chara sighed in relief.

Told you it was scary.

Chara cracked an awkward smile, " _You were right. That sucked._ "

Now what...? Frisk asked apprehensively.

Chara looked out over the dimly lit garbage dump and then down at the cut near the top of Frisk's calf; it wasn't deep but it was almost three inches long and still bleeding slightly. " _I think we should call Sans._ "

Are you sure?

Chara nodded, " _i doubt letting Mad dummy beat the fluff out of themselves has any real impact on whether Undyne will be our friend in the end. Quite frankly, Mad can stuff it._ "

Frisk and Chara giggled tiredly.

Chara fished their cellphone out and turned it on trepidatiously. " _It's not broken...good._ " they clicked on Sans' name and hit send, cradling the phone against their ear with both hands.

"what's up, kiddo?" Sans asked

" _Uh, h-hi. i was wondering if you could help us?_ " Chara asked nervously.

"..."

" _...um..._ " Chara tightened their grip on the phone.

"chara, right?"

" _Y-yeah._ " They swallowed hard _._

"...whatya need?"

" _A lift?_ "

"i'm not much of a weightlifter, i don't have the muscles for it."

Chara snorted and quickly clapped a hand over their mouth.

"heh," they could imagine his grin over the phone, "where are you two?"

" _The garbage dump._ " Chara said, " _The flooded part, at the very, very end. There are a couple platforms and... and a patch of golden flowers, that's where we're at._ "

"flooded... alright. i'll be right there."

Chara clicked off the phone. A few seconds passed, there was a splash and the distant muttering of words that had all the shapes and colors of swear words but somehow managed to not be.

Sans trudged into view, holding his slippers in one hand; the water reaching up to his shorts. "never taken a shortcut to this part of the dump. _no one_ comes to this part of the dump." he said pointedly.

" _Well, you know what they say about getting experience_ ," Chara said.

Sans stepped up onto the platform.

" _You gotta get your feet wet_."

Sans looked down at his feet and back up at them. "your jokes are all wet."

" _Way to put a damp-er on things._ "

"heh," he grinned. He looked them over and frowned, kneeling down beside them, "what happened to your leg?" He gently turned their leg and tsked at the cut. "how'd you even get here?"

Chara pointed up. " _We were running away from Undyne up on the catwalks in the old cistern._ _Undyne broke the supports and we ended up here._ "

Sans looked up and shook his head, "it's a miracle the fall didn't kill you." he scolded them, "was it really worth the risk?"

"The fall didn't kill me last time, though." Frisk said.

" _It_ did _almost scared the Frisk out of me._ "

"you-" Sans sighed, grinned and mussed their hair, "can you stand? it's easier to take shortcuts if you can move."

Chara pushed themselves to their feet, careful not to put any weight on their injured leg.

"Can you take us just past the dump?" Frisk asked.

"no way." Sans shook his head, "we need to take care of that cut."

"If I get some food at Gerson's we'll be ok."

"nah," Sans repeated, "our food might heal you soul, but it's not gonna help your leg much and I don't know any healing magic."

"It'll stop the pain." Frisk said with absolute certainty.

"you-" he shook his hands at them in frustration, "what did you-" he grumbled something under his breath and said, "you may have done it all alone last time but this time is different. You called me for help-"

"We'll walk then." Frisk said, taking a step forward.

Chara stopped them, " _Frisk, wait! What if Sans takes us to Blook's place and he can bandage your leg and then we go?_ "

"since when was this up for discussion?" Sans said his voice taking on exasperated tone. "even pap wasn't this much trouble."

" _Would you rather they walk off into this sludge with an open cut?_ " Chara said pointing to the dark water swirling with garbage, " _'Cause they will. Frisk has a stubborn streak the likes of which you have never seen._ "

"i can see it now." Sans sighed, "fine. ...determination," he shook his head, "such a pain in the as-"

Chara cleared their throat loudly and glared at Sans.

"i'll take you to napstablooks' place to patch you up and then you can do-" he waved his hand in frustration, "whatever."

"...ok." Frisk relented.

Sans put his arm over their shoulder. "lean on me." he instructed them. They stood at the edge of the platform and hobbled towards the other side, coming out in front of Blook's front door. Sans knocked on the front door but there was no answer. He poked his head inside, "seems like your ghost friend is out." He guided them inside, "they won't mind."

Frisk stopped inside the room, dropped their bag and slid down the wall. The room seemed especially sad without Blooky in it.

"i'm gonna run to the store and get supplies to bandage you up." He paused, dropping his slippers on the ground and sliding them on, "stay put til i get back."

Frisk nodded.

The door clicked closed.

 _It's weird in here without Blook._

They nodded.

 _You ok?_

"Yeah."

 _All out of steam?_

Frisk slid down the wall and lay on their back, staring at the ceiling.

 _Yeah._

There was no way to tell how much time passed, Blook had no clock, but finally Sans returned. He sat down next to them and began unpacking a crumpled paper bag; disinfectant, ointment, gauze, a bandage and some tape. "alright." he said to himself, starring at items with furious concentration.

Frisk pushed themselves back up into a sitting position.

" _I can do it_." Chara volunteered.

"i got this. gerson told me how to do it." He picked up the disinfectant wipes. His eyes focused on his hands as he carefully cleaning the cut.

The disinfectant stung. Frisk did their best to hold still, "You never did this for Pap?"

He shook his head, "i put plenty of bone bruise cream on, though." he grinned, "he was always running around full tilt without watching where he was going."

Frisk grinned imagining a wee Papyrus running around with a long red scarf wrapped around their neck. The grin slowly faded, "...I'm sorry."

"for back at the dump?"

Frisk nodded.

"you're in an awful a hurry to get home, huh?" Sans said quietly, applying ointment to the gauze and pressing it against the cut.

"...Home." Frisk leaned their head back against the wall, "...yeah."

"you'd even let yourself get hurt like this." Sans unrolled a bandage. His eyes seemed darker than normal, "must be nice, up there."

Frisk frowned and shook their head, "...home isn't a place," they grabbed the edge of his jacket, "Mum, Chara and Pop-pop, you and Pap, Undyne and Alphys, Blooky... and Mettaton too, that's home. _That's_ my home."

Sans hands stopped moving.

Frisk tugged on his jacket, "Sans?"

"wha-...nothing, nothing." he shook his head and wrapped the bandage around their leg quickly. He tore off a piece of tape and shakily tried to a affix it but kept missing.

Chara caught his hand and plucked the tape out of his hand, re-wrapping and tightening the bandage slightly before taping the end down in one practiced motion.

"...Are you ok?" Frisk asked.

"heh." he turned away, pressing his sleeve against his face, "i'm fine, perfectly fine. yeah." his brow twisted, "...i'm just having some intense deja-vu right now..."

Frisk watched him apprehensively.

"geez, kid... you don't play fair at all..."

"sorry."

"nah, don't be." He sighed and shook his head and turned back to them, sticking his hands in this pockets and pulling out two crab apples. "here." He tossed one to Frisk and plopped down beside them.

They ate the apples in relative silence.

"done?" Sans asked.

Frisk held up the apple core and nodded.

Sans took the core and popped it in his mouth and pulled them to their feet. "can you put your weight on it?" he nodded to their leg.

They tentatively leaned forward, "Yes."

"alright, let's walk on it then." he gestured for them to follow him outside.

Frisk picked up their backpack and followed after him.

"well? how does it feel?" Sans asked.

"Fine."

He sighed, "and I can't convince you to come back-" he hesitated, "home."

"Not yet." Frisk said.

"and it doesn't hurt?"

They shook their head.

"alright..." he conceded, "call if you need anything else, ok?"

They nodded.

"i'll see you-"

Frisk leaned forward and hugged him.

"...soon." he wrapped his arms around them and squeezed, "be good, kid." He stepped back and almost as an afterthought said,"oh, and return these to gerson for me." dumping the bag of medical supplies in their arms with a wink and was gone.

Chara snickered.

"Not funny." Frisk said sourly.

 _Totally funny._

Frisk walked down the path to Gerson's store and went inside, sliding the bag onto the narrow counter.

Gerson looked from Frisk to the bag and back to Frisk. He swept the bag to the side and leaned forward, squinting at them, "So, you're the one the boy was all worried about, eh?" he slapped the counter, "Wahahah! What a pickle! Did he fix you up right n' proper?"

Frisk stepped back from the counter and turned so Gerson could see their bandage.

"Pretty good for his first time! I've had to patch up quiet a few rowdy young-un in my time. Some of the stories I could tell you 'bout young Undyne...!" he crowed.

Frisk stepped back up the the counter grabbing on the edge with both hands.

"Undyne, she's a local hero round here, has been looking for you, not to shake your hand I'm certain. On the other hand, lots of other folk been talking about you too. They say you help when you can and don't hurt when folks get a little too worked up. You're a good kid."

"Thank you." Frisk said politely.

"Undyne's always been quite the firebrand. Act first, think later! That's her motto!"

" _You could say she's a bit, hotheaded._ " Chara said deadpan.

"Wahahaha!" Gerson clapped the counter, "That's just the sort of thing the boy'd say! Now I can see why he's fond of you!"

Frisk giggled.

"Look here," he nodded to them, "the path ahead is flooded and it'll be no good to walk through it with that leg." He wobbled over to the side of the counter and waved to them, "Come back here."

Frisk hurried to the other side, following the old turtle into the backroom and at the back of that room a narrow door, "This here will take you around past Temmie village to the crystal light room. It's a bit narrow so most people don't know of it, but it's dry and safe, it'll see you on your way."

Frisk smiled, "Thank you very much, Mr. Gerson."

"Wahahaha!" he laughed, "My pleasure, kid! Just make sure you steer clear of our young hothead!"

"Until she's cooled off?"

Gerson laughed and clapped them on the back so hard they stumbled.

 _Pretty good._ Chara chuckled.

Frisk said goodbye to Gerson and went down the narrow road, coming out in the crystal light room. They groped around for ten minutes before finding a light box to even find their way out of the cave. The path ahead was just as dark and wet. They almost stepped in a deep puddle, stumbling around it they ran into an echo flower, they clutched at the blue flower to keep from falling over. Deep within its petals a voice echoed, "Behind you."

They spun around. Metal rang against metal with every step. "Seven." Undyne said coldly, her voice a snarl of frustration, "Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king... will become a god."

Frisk pressed their back to the wall.

"With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity," she curled her hand into a fist, "and give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured."

Frisk tried to stay calm but their heart was racing.

"Understand, human?"she said flatly, "This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your soul or I'll tear it from your body." A blue spear materialized in her hand and she aimed the tip at their chest.

They found their eyes transfixed by the point of the spear as each step she took brought it closer and closer to them. Frisk felt their soul shudder and begin to pull free from their chest.

"Undyne!" MK burst from the grass, "I'll help you fight!"

Undyne froze.

MK looked at Undyne then turned and looked at Frisk, "Yo! You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!"

Frisk gave them a pained looked and shook their head slightly.

MK looked around in sudden confusion, "Wait... Who's she fighting?"

Undyne growled and dropped her spear. She grabbed MK by one of their spikes and impatiently dragged the protesting monster back the way they had come.

 _Well, that was fun._

Frisk laughed weakly.

 _i can't believe Undyne took the time to whisper 'behind you' in that echo flower, such a nerd._

"It was pretty scary, though."

Chara shrugged, _Just because it worked doesn't mean it wasn't ridiculous._

"Ridiculously cool." Frisk made finger guns and winked like Aaron.

Chara laughed so hard they snorted.

(a/n: I hope this chapter is better than the last one. I got less reviews for the last chapter than any chapter I've ever put out so, well, I know it wasn't bad 'cause I'd get reviews pointing that out, same if it was good so I guess it must have been just meh? I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out why I could go back and improve it. I suppose that's the problem with a meh chapter, no clues. Too much narrative maybe... Well, at least the next chapter, out on saturday, will be awesome. It's shaping up to be one of my favorites so far. See you all then, hugs n kisses.)


	14. Chapter 14

(a/n: hooboy, deep breaths, I hope you like this chapter, I love it so much it makes me nervous. I present to you, my baby, please treat it well. Also, I recommend listening to Undyne's theme, spear of justice during their confrontation, it adds +10 to the coolness factor.)

Chapter 14

Their eyes had adjusted to the dark and they were able to retrace their steps and find the glowing path heading north. The path was flooded within a few steps. Frisk pulled themselves up to on the side of the trail and walked beside it, echo flowers whispering to them as they passed. "you promise you won't laugh at me... of course, I won't laugh!... standing under ….sky...my wish... you said you wouldn't laugh! …that's my wish too!"

Frisk smiled.

The path narrowed into a hallway with half a meter of water still covering the path before there was dry ground and no way around it.

 _Maybe you could jump?_

"It's kinda far..."

There was a faint splash behind them. When Frisk turned they could see ripples spreading out from around one of the echo flowers at the start of the path.

 _Something probably fell from the ceiling._

Frisk couldn't take their eyes off the fading ripples. Even after they were gone they had a sinking feeling in the bottom of their stomach. They walked back to echo flower and glanced around before carefully bending it towards their ear.

"...Where or where could that child be...?" Toriel's gentle voice asked in despair, "I've been looking all over for them."

Frisk's eyes began to ache with tears.

 _It can't be-_

"Hee hee hee," The voice suddenly changed, acid and full of bile, "THAT'S not true. She'll find another kid, and instantly forget about you." Flowey snarled, "You'll NEVER see her again."

Frisk sniffed and wiped their eyes.

 _That's not true! It's not!_

They took a deep breath, blinking the last of the tears away and leaned in close to the flower, "...we never forget the ones we love, they stay in our hearts forever."

Frisk let go of the flower and stood up. They walked back to the end of the trail and jumped the last stretch of water.

 _Do you really think...? Do you think they might remember..._ Chara stopped, _no, never mind, it's stupid._

"That's not true, Chara." Frisk said softly, "They loved you."

 _…..._

The path gave way to the a chasm filled with stalagmites. A narrow bridge had been built to cross the gap.

 _Ergh._ Chara recoiled as Frisk stepped out on the bridge, _tell me when you're across._

They were nearly across when MK's voice rang out behind them, "Yo!"

Frisk turned.

"...Yo, I know I'm not supposed to be here," MK said despondently, "but I wanna ask you something." they walked up to Frisk, "Man, I've never had to ask anyone this before...ummm..." They scuffed their foot on the bridge, and wouldn't look them in the eye, "Yo... You're human, right?"

"Uhuh." Frisk nodded.

"Haha, man, I knew it! ...well, I know it know, I mean. Undyne told me, 'stay away from that human!'" They looked up at Frisk apologetically then back down at their feet. "So, like, um... I guess the makes us enemies or something. But I kinda stink at that," they laughed awkwardly.

Frisk smiled encouragingly and waited, tension knotting their muscles.

"Yo," MK looked up at them sadly, "say something mean so I can hate you? Please?"

"You...um, should be more careful when you run."

"Huh...?" They looked as if they might cry, "...Yo, that's your idea of something mean? My sister say that to me ALL THE TIME!"

"I don't want you to get hurt." Frisk said softly.

MK furrowed their brow, "Guess I have to do it...ha ha... Yo, I... I hate your guts." Their eyes pooled with tears and they tried to blink them away, "Man, I... I'm such a turd. I'm... I'm gonna go home now." They backed away. As they turned their feet tangled. MK twisted towards the bridge as they fell, just barely catching hold of the stone column in the middle with their chin. "Yo, w-w-wait! Help! I-"

Frisk ran, diving to their knees and grabbing MK's shirt with both hands and pulling them up with all their strength.

Frisk hugged them tight, "Please be more careful, MK, please." They could feel Undyne's eyes on them but they didn't care, just so long as their friend was safe.

There was a creak of metal from Undyne's armor. She stepped towards them.

MK shot their feet and stood in front of Frisk, tears dripping down their face, "Y... y... yo...dude," they stuttered, shaking like a leaf, "If... If y-you wanna hurt my friend... You're gonna have to get through me, first."

Undyne stared at them, shook her head slightly and backed away.

"She's gone...Yo, you really saved my skin."

"You saved mine too." Frisk said, "Thanks a bunch, MK."

"Guess being enemies was just a nice thought, haha." They gave Frisk a wobbily smile, "We'll just have to be friends instead."

Frisk grinned, "Yeah, that sounds nice."

"...man, I should REALLY go home. I bet my parents are worried sick about me!" MK walked back towards Snowdin, pausing to call back, "Later, Frisk!"

"Don't run, 'k?!" Frisk shouted after them.

 _Is your leg ok?_

Frisk uncurled their legs to look, the bandage was dirty but it was still in place. "I skinned my knees a little."

 _Are they bleeding?_

"Not really." Frisk brushed a few bits of gravel off, "It just stings."

 _Good, can we get off the bridge now? Please?_

"Hokay," Frisk pushed themselves to their feet and crossed the bridge to the other side, "I didn't know you were afraid of heights, Chara."

 _Yeah well, I didn't have a flower bed to fall on when I fell into the underground, just hard packed clay. It... It wasn't exactly fun._ They changed the subject, _...Now, all that's left is the final showdown with Undyne and then you can go home._

" _We_ can go home."

 _… … I have an idea for the fight._

"What is it?"

 _Not to. When Undyne is up on the top of the rocks, there's a point when she dramatically removes her helmet the light frames her from behind and she's standing with her back turned and she looks super cool, right?_

"Yeah?"

 _So when she starts to take off her helmet she won't be able to see you. You run, maybe she won't see which way you go, and that will buy you even more time. Maybe you won't have to fight her at all, or only once, she takes a while to get her spears up to speed so that wouldn't be too bad... what'd you think?_

Frisk nodded, their chest swelling with Determination. They threw down a save point and marched to the base of the crag of sharp jutting stone, Undyne standing atop like the one true heroine.

"Seven." Her voice bounced over the rocks, "Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god." She turned to them, "Six. That's how many we have collected thus far. Understand? Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed."

Chara wanted to applaud, Frisk didn't let them. It wouldn't have been appreciated.

"First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far..." She looked off soulfully into the distance.

Frisk shifted their feet, grinding their soles into the stone.

"I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started long ago..." She stopped suddenly and looked at them in contempt, "No, you know what? SCREW IT!" She snapped, "WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!? NGAAAHHHHHH!" The light flared.

 _NOW!_

Frisk ran, with all their might, ducking through the stone tunnel. Above them Undyne screamed in outrage. Her helmet crashed down the side of the crag and behind them the world shook as Undyne jumped down and shattered the earth below her feet. "GET BACK HERE!"

A jolt of adrenaline shot through them, the mild twinge in their leg faded, all that mattered was running. They crossed the river and rounded the corner. Above them the scrolling Hotland sign flashed. Behind them Undyne reached out and pulled.

Their soul was pulled into battle. Undyne swung her lance through them, pinning their soul down with green magic and threw them a bent spear with a snarl, "You've escaped me for the LAST time!"

Blue spears began appearing around them filling the air with the hum of magic. A vicious smile appeared on Undyne's face as the first spear raced towards their soul. Frisk snatched up the bent spear and clumsily knocked her attacks away. "I don't want to fight!"

She looked at them coldly, "Alphys told me humans were determined..." Her hand flexed and another barrage of spears formed around Frisk.

They were getting faster. Frisk missed a spear and it tore through their soul with a searing white-hot pain. "Please!"

"I see now what she meant about that!" Undyne clenched her hand into a fist and shook her head.

Frisk spun, knocking another spear away. They were starting to remember.

 _A yellow spear is coming!_

Frisk spotted the smaller spear and turned their back to it as it neared them, smashing it out of the air as it circled around them with laser like precision.

"But I'm determined, too!" She bounced on her toes, spears spreading around them like a cloud of hornets, "Determined to end this RIGHT NOW!"

She was getting faster and her green magic had not let up. Frisk spun, knocking spear after spear out of the air. Yellow spears snuck into the fray, they turned their back on them time and time again even though every instinct screamed at them not to. A blue spear in the midst cut through them, Frisk hissed in pain.

"RIGHT NOW!"

Frisk could feel her magic weakening. She was summoning fewer spears. Frisk turned and flicked one out of the air and spun easily to the other side to strike the next one down. They could almost feel them, a prickling on the their back, a buzzing in their head. Frisk didn't move, swinging the spear around from the front to the side, Undyne's spear ricocheting off the stones. They swept the spear forward, catching an approaching spear and twisting it as they turned and bringing it against the spear bearing down on their flank.

 _...holy shit..._

Frisk felt strange, lighter and more than themselves.

"...Right...Now..." Undyne panted, " Ha...Ha..."

The spears were slowing down. Frisk took a deep breath. Undyne threw a spear at their face, Frisk swatted it away. Sweat dotted their brow. Behind. They spun and bashed into a spear, so close to them they could taste Undyne's magic. Again! They felt the prickle and spun around, catching the approaching spear against the side of their shield spear and casting it aside. A laugh bubbled up from inside of them as they turned and smashed the next spear away with hardly a glance.

"NGAHHH!" She snarled in frustration, "YOU"RE GETTING IN MY WAY!" The air buzzed with magic as yellow spears filled the air and rained down upon them.

Frisk tightened their grip and, closed their eyes.

 _...what are you...?!_

They felt and moved. Undyne's magic was like the flashes of dying stars, brilliant, violent and then gone. Frisk spear sang and the air filled with the sharp notes of magic shattering against it. They twisted, and swung. Undyne's spears cracked and fell against their own. They could feel them coming, not from where they were but where they would be. Frisk could feel their thrumming determination. They couldn't stop the laugh of elation that escaped from their mouth. They swung their spear down with all their strength and ground her last spear into the stone like a twig.

Undyne's green magic suddenly released. Frisk's eyes snapped open and they threw down the spear and ran.

Blue spears whistling past their head, the air smelling of the sharp tang of Undyne's magic. They could see the bridge in the distance, the yellow-orange glow of the lava.

 _You're almost there!_

"STOP RUNNING AWAY!" She bellowed from behind them.

If Undyne caught up to them she would pin them down with her magic again. They pushed themselves to run faster.

The air was getting hot and dry.

Frisk felt her magic coming and dodged to the side. A spear shot past where they had been a second before. They stumbled and almost fell. Their lungs burned. Frisk pressed their hand over their soul.

"You can't escape me!" Undyne yelled, a lot closer than she had been before, "DIE ALREADY, YOU LITTLE BRAT! UUUURRRRAAAGH!" She threw a spear with all her strength.

 _Behind!_ Chara shouted frantically.

Frisk knew and turned and held out their hand and- their soul pulsed, Frisk squeezed their shirt in their hand. There was a flash of red. The spear hurtling towards them, stopped, and hung in the air motionless.

"wha-?!" Frisk gasped.

 _The fu-! Not now! Run! RUN!_

Frisk spun and ran, ducking as the spear flew over their head. They could see Sans sentry station and the bridge leading to the lava fields. The heat was pulling the sweat from their back, their mouth felt as dry as a bone.

 _Sans' is there!_ Chara said excitedly, _please be the same as last time, please..!_

Frisk ran by the sentry station, catching a glimpse of the sleeping skeleton as they passed. They felt a wave of relief.

"SANS!" Undyne roared, "WAKE UP! A HUMAN JUST PASSED YOUR STATION YOU LAZY SACK OF BONES!" Her fist smashed into the sentry station counter before she stumbled after them. Each step came slower. Frisk could hear her pained breathing.

They stopped beside the water cooler, hands braced on their knees. Undyne stopped at the end of the bridge, her armor pulled her to the ground like an anchor.

Frisk grabbed two of the little cups and filled them with cold water, walking over back over to Undyne. Her face was too dry and flushed. Frisk carefully poured a cup of water over her face. Undyne blinked and looked up at Frisk, every drop of vemon left in her glared up at them. She slowly pushed herself back to her feet, wobbling like a tree in high wind. Frisk pushed the other cup of water into her unresisting hand. Undyne snarled at them but dumped the other cup of water over her head and staggered slowly back toward Waterfall.

Frisk sagged with relief and went back to the water cooler, pouring a cup of water for themselves and gulping it down. They sat down on the ground with their back against the dispenser.

 _Back there... you made that spear stop in mid air. ...Your soul flashed for a moment and it just_ stopped...!

"don't know how."Frisk said panting. They reached up to the cooler and refilled the cup.

 _It was like magic... but monsters are made of magic, and humans are just useless meat sacks... maybe i'm thinking about this wrong. hmm..._ Chara mused.

Frisk drank and leaned their head back against the cooler, closing their eyes.

 _Humans must have been able to do magic once, powerful magic, or they never could've made the barrier... human's aren't made of magic so they can't use it as easily as monsters but their souls are powerful. A single human soul can make a monster scary powerful so- Oh-_ Chara gasped, _a human that's really in tune with their soul might be able to use magic or something like it, like you... Frisk, the saving and loading-_

"But that's just 'cause I have a lot of determination."

 _Exactly! That's the driving characteristic of your soul and you have enough to REWIND TIME! So stopping time, stopping a_ spear _? Maybe you're just figuring out how to use your soul to effect things outside your own timeline!_

Frisk pressed their hand to their chest, their soul glowed vivid red under their hand.

 _This is amazing!_ Chara gushed, _You might be the first human since the war to use magic!_

"don't know how I did it..." They relaxed their focus and their soul color faded.

 _Baby monsters don't know how to use their magic at first either. They just mess around until they figure it out. You're not going to burn yourself or knock yourself out with a bone attack so if you muck around with it I'm sure you can figure it out._ Chara was pumped. _This is the coolest thing ever!_

Frisk grinned. "Did you see me fight? Wasn't it the best?!"

 _YES._

"I could feel it, Chara." They spread their fingers out in front of themselves, "I could feel her magic, I knew where it was going to be, Chara, I wasn't scared! Haha-!" tears dripped down their cheeks. They wiped their face quickly with a giggle of relief. "...I wasn't scared..."

Frisk looked up at the sound of footsteps crossing the bridge.

"well'd you have fun?" Sans asked with a scoldy sort of tone.

"Sans!" Frisk ran over to him and hugged him tight, "I did it, Sans! I did it!"

He sighed, "yeah... yeah you did, kid." he patted their back and stepped back, looking them over, "i would've appreciated a little more warning though, i'dve jumped out of my skin if i had any."

Frisk giggled.

"Were you crying?" Sans' asked, his brow furrowing.

"Happy tears."

He narrowed his eyes.

" _They were!_ " Chara reassured him, " _I could feel them. They weren't painful tears._ "

"alright." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "i have little proposition for you kiddo,"

"what?" Frisk asked.

"let's not do this again." he shook his head, "next time just tell me what's gonna happen and we can work something out; something a lot less dangerous."

"...I'll try."

"you'll try to remember to tell me or-?"

" _Or we tell you and if it doesn't work out we reload and do it ourselves._ " Chara said shortly.

Frisk smiled apologetically, "But we'll tell you first, promise."

Sans rubbed his skull, "...you..."

"Hey, Sans?" Frisk asked.

"what?" he grumbled.

"I'm ready to go home now." they smiled hopefully, "Do you still have to work?"

Sans glanced back at his sentry station, the counter caved neatly in half where Undyne had smashed it. "doubt it." He held out his hand, "shall we?"

Chara nodded down the path, " _How about we take the ferry back?_ " They reached up and tapped Sans on the forehead, " _You look exhausted, skele man._ "

"i have worked my fingers down to the _bone_." He winked.

Chara rolled their eyes and walked down the ferry person.

They turned their darkness filled hood towards them, "Tra la la..." They sang, "I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?"

"Yes, please." Frisk said, "Can you take us to Snowdin?"

They nodded and Frisk and Sans hopped onto the back of the boat and sat down as the River person began paddling along.

Frisk pulled out their cellphone and dialed Papyrus' number.

"IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? DO YOU NEED THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO RESCUE YOU?!"

Frisk giggled, "It's ok! Undyne won't try to capture me anymore."

"THAT'S GREAT! I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANY LESS FROM FROM THE BEST FRIEND OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH! I THINK YOU AND UNDYNE WILL MAKE GREAT PALS! I CAN'T WAIT TO INTRODUCE THE TWO OF YOU!" He said excitedly, "WILL YOU BE BACK SOON?"

"Uhuh! Me 'n Sans are on the ferry."

"SANS?! WHAT'S HE DOING THERE? HE SHOULD BE WORKING!"

Frisk gave the phone to Sans.

"undyne was feeling a little steamed up, and had to take a break to cool her head."

Frisk stifled a giggle.

Sans grinned, "so i got the rest of the day off."

"HRRRMMM, WELL... I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE. AFTER ALL UNDYNE IS A WONDERFUL PERSON!"

"sure is, pap. here's the kid back." He handed the phone back to Frisk.

"We just went by Waterfall!"

"YOU SHALL BE HERE SOON! I SHALL AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL WITH ANTICIPATION!"

As Snowdin came into view Frisk could see Papyrus standing on the shore, waving his arms in the air. Frisk stood up and waved back. "Pap!"

"Careful." The River Person said softly as the boat rocked.

Before the boat had even stopped moving Frisk jumped off, "Pap!" They ran over to him.

Papyrus scooped them up and hugged them tight, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" bumping their foreheads together. Frisk squeezed his scarf in their hands, "heehee!"

"Excuse me." The River Person said.

Papyrus turned towards them, River Person pointed to the contentedly snoring Sans still on the boat.

Pap smacked his forehead and sighed. He set Frisk down and went to the boat, scooping Sans up in his arms. He looked down at Frisk, "LET'S GO HOME."

(a/n: Good? Maybe? I hope so, really, really. An awesome conclusion to the Waterfall arc. The Hotland Arc will not be this exciting. Then again it lacks a Fish-lady hunting Frisk to the death so that's understandable. The next arc will be a lot like the Snowdin arc, lower key. I'm just saying, maybe, lower your expectations, cause yeah... but did you like it?! Please review, comment, maybe? I normally don't like to ask cause I feel like a schlub but I really wanna know what people think about this chapter, or even about the whole arc? Preeettty please.

The next chapter will be posted on Saturday, for certain. I need some time to wind down from all this over excitement I've caused myself and shift gears. Whew I've over excited myself again. This chapter gets me unnecessarily amped. See y'all in a week.)


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Papyrus tucked the blanket around Sans and stepped back from the couch. Sans gave a little snore and rolled into a little ball, wrapping the blanket tightly around himself.

"YOU MUST BE HUNGRY!" He said to Frisk.

"Yes!" Frisk said excitedly.

"NYEH HEH HEH! I SHALL PREPARE DINNER THEN!" He went into the kitchen and rummaged around, opening the cabinets and fridge, "I AM VERY EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ADVENTURE..." he frowned as he slowly closed the fridge, "I NEED TO GO SHOPPING..."

"Can I come?" Frisk asked dropping their backpack on the ground.

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus ran and got them their coat.

They pulled on their coat and followed Papyrus outside, "Hey Pap?"

"YES?" He held out his hand and Frisk happily took it.

"I wanna introduce you to someone."

 _Wait- You're not doing what i think you're doing are you?_

"A NEW FRIEND? THE HANDSOME AND POPULAR PAPYRUS CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS!"

"Their name is Chara." _Oh god, you are._ "They're a ghost, kinda." _This is a terrible idea._ "They used to be human a long time ago but they died," _A really, really terrible idea. You know-_ "and now they live in my head-?...heart-?...soul?" _just because it's easy for you to make friends-_ "they're my friend an I think they should meet you."

" _-doesn't mean it's easy for everyone else._ " Chara froze.

Papyrus stopped walking and looked at them quizzically.

" _that's not fair! Get back here!_ " Chara hissed, " _Frisk. Frisk!_ " They turned, and Papyrus was right there. Crouching down at eye level to them. " _Holy bananas!_ " Chara jumped and laughed nervously. They tried to smiled naturally but had no clue how that was supposed to work and quickly tried to stop.

Papyrus stared at them. Chara stared back, feeling their face getting hotter and hotter.

"HELLO! MY NAME IS PAPYRUS!" Papyrus smiled and held out his hand.

Chara looked at his hand then back up at Papyrus.

"I PROMISE I DON'T BITE!" Papyrus reassured them, "EXCEPT THAT ONCE BUT THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

" _Wait, you bit someone?_ " Chara asked.

"WELL..." Papyrus said sheepishly, "I WAS YOUNG AND SANS WAS BEING MORE SANS THAN USUAL AND WOULDN'T PUT ME DOWN SO I... BIT HIS ARM." he offered his hand again.

Chara hesitantly shook his hand, "... _Greetings, i'm Chara. Thank you for taking such good care of Frisk._ "

"NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE! BUT SINCE YOU ARE IN THE SAME BODY, DIDN'T I TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU AS WELL THEN!?"

Chara felt their face getting hot again. They pressed their hands to their cheeks.

"I HAD SEEN FRISK TALKING WITH SOMEONE WHEN THEY WERE ALONE," He beamed at them, "IT'S NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU!"

" _Oh god._ " Chara whispered, " _You're as bad as Frisk, please stop being so embarrassing._ "

Frisk giggled, "I knew you'd get along!"

" _You're horrible! The worst! You can't just dump someone into a conversation like that._ "

"It worked with Sans."

" _That is a terrible example._ "

"But, Papyrus is Papyrus." Frisk said.

They glanced up at Papyrus nervously, " _i was afraid he wouldn't think... i was real._ "

"OF COURSE YOU'RE REAL, YOU'RE RIGHT HERE AREN'T YOU!"

"... _yeah. i should have never doubted the Great Papyrus._ "Chara sighed and shrugged, " _Have you ever heard of alfredo? It's really good..._ "

After a surprisingly successful shopping trip to make alfredo, the thick cream sauce simmered on the cooktop while a pot of wide noodles gently boiled on the burner next to it, two bell peppers worth of sliced peppers cooking along with them.

"THIS SAUCE SEEMS VERY UNHEALTHY..." Papyrus said uncertainly, stirring the white sauce with more enthusiasm than skill.

" _Your complaints have been duly noted, that's why we bought the bell peppers. Turn the heat down a little._ " Chara said.

"SHOULDN'T WE HAVE COOKED THE PEPPERS IN THE SAUCE?" Papyrus asked.

Chara shrugged and shifted from where they were sitting on the edge of the counter and stabbed one of the noodles cooking in the pot with a fork and lifted it out, blowing on it. "I wanna check!" Frisk said, biting the hot noodle. " _Well?_ They're done!" Chara nodded, " _The noodles are ready to be drained._ "

"I'M ON IT!" Papyrus picked up the pot and hurried to the sink.

Frisk and Chara watched with fascination as he drained the noddles and sliced peppers in the sink somehow and managed to get them in a bowl and not on the floor. They clapped appreciatively as he sat the bowl beside them.

" _Now we can throw the peppers in the sauce and mix them in._ " Chara picked the peppers out and flicked them into the simmering sauce.

"IT'S SO WONDERFUL TO MEET A FELLOW COOKING ENTHUSIAST!" Papyrus said excitedly.

Chara grimaced, " _No way. I just know a couple easy recipes._ " They shrank a little under Papyrus' puppy dog expression, " _But, if someone else is doing all the work, I don't mind supervising._ "

"INDEED! COOKING IS ALWAYS MORE FUN TOGETHER!"

"what's going on?" Sans asked from the doorway

"YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE SANS!?" Papyrus grabbed an extra plate, "CHARA AND FRISK HAVE BEEN HELPING ME MAKE AN ALFREDO. CHARA ASSURES ME IS VERY SIMILAR TO SPAGHETTI THOUGH I AM NOT CONVINCED ON THIS POINT."

" _It's noodles and sauce isn't it? What other criteria do you need..._ " Chara muttered under their breath.

"you met chara?" his voice was flat as a mill pond.

"FRISK WAS ADAMANT THAT WE MEET AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS!" He divided the noodles onto the three plates and dumped some of the rich white sauce on top.

" _Certainly wasn't my idea._ "

"It would've been weird if Sans knew and Pap didn't." Frisk said, "besides...I don't think it should be a secret."

"CERTAINLY!" Papyrus said with a flourish, "NOW, DINNER IS SERVED!"

Frisk jumped off the counter and Papyrus handed them a plate and a fork.

"SANS?" Papyrus offered the shorter skeleton a plate of alfredo.

He took it slowly.

Papyrus marched out into the living room and plopped down on the couch next to Frisk. Sans trailed after them.

Frisk ravenously ate half the alfredo and then let Chara take over. They spun a small bite on their fork and ate it very slowly.

Sans was watching them.

" _Your food is going to get cold._ " Chara said.

Sans turned his attention to his plate.

"WOWIE! THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD?"

" _As good as spaghetti?_ " Chara asked.

"OF COURSE NOT!" He said, offended at the very notion, "SPAGHETTI IS THE PERFECT FOOD! THIS MAY BE TASTY BUT IT IS TERRIBLY UNHEALTHY!"

"no wonder i like it." Sans said.

Papyrus groaned.

"Chara! You didn't eat any of the peppers!" Frisk scolded.

" _Why? i don't like them. You do, so you eat them._ "

"That's not the point!"

" _i'm dead, i don't have to eat my vegetables anymore._ "

Frisk scowled, "Not funny."

" _Totally funny._ "

Frisk sullenly ate the peppers.

"ERRR..." Papyrus shot to his feet. "SHALL I WASH THE DISHES?!"

Frisk held out their plate, "Thank you."

"OF COURSE! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus scooped up Sans plate as well and trotted off to the kitchen.

Sans stared at the kitchen for a few seconds then turned towards Frisk, "i was hoping to talk to you for a second. just the two of us."

"Ok?"

"can you make it so the brat can't hear what's going on?" Sans asked

Frisk nodded slowly.

"couldja do that right now?"

Frisk stared at him for a second, then closed their eyes and furrowed their brow. "...ok."

"chara can't hear us?"

Frisk nodded.

 _But Frisk, i can still-_

"do you trust them?" Sans asked.

"Wha-?" Frisk frowned in confusion.

"they've- well, i'm not too sure about them." he rubbed the back of his skull. "their name seemed familiar so i did some looking around today while you were paling around with undyne."

 _Oh...He's seen the videos._

"You've seen the videos?" Frisk asked.

"you've been in the lab?" Sans asked in surprise.

"Not yet."

Sans mouth twitched, "smart-aleck... but you know then, who they are."

"Chara was the first one to fall into the underground and was adopted by Toriel and Asgore. They-" Frisk pressed their hand to their heart, and swallowed hard, "they came up with a plan to save all the monsters and it got them and their brother killed..." They whispered, "it wasn't meant to..."

Sans narrowed his eyes, "they were going to kill humans on the surface, the only reason it didn't work was because the prince was killed."

Chara shuddered.

"So?" Frisk frowned, "Does that make them worse than anybody that wanted to kill me? Like Asgore or Undyne? ...or Papyrus?"

"he didn't want to-! don't bring him into this!" Sans snapped, then looked guilty and lowered his voice, "i wouldn't have let it get that far..."

"Chara's just a kid... like me." Frisk said softly, "They didn't mean for Asriel to die. They loved him, just as much as you love Pap."

Sans went quiet and looked down at the ground.

 _Can we stop talking about this now?_ Chara asked softly

"I'm gonna tell Chara what we talked about." Frisk said.

"kid, i don't-"

" 'Cause I love Chara. I won't hurt them again. I won't lie to them." Frisk said solemnly.

 _You-_

Frisk felt apprehensive as the silence inside their head stretched out, "...are you mad at me?"

 _No._ Chara said soft and sulky, _I'm happy. Now go away..._

"no, i ain't mad at you, kid." Sans sighed.

"I promised Chara I'd never put them in the dark again." Frisk twisted their fingers together. "You shouldn'ta asked me to... don't ask me to again 'cause I won't."

"are _you_ mad at me?" Sans asked.

"...a little." Frisk said with a frown, "but you don't really know Chara very well... without them, I never would've made it this far. You'll see."

"sorry." Sans left out a deep sigh. "i won't ask you to do it again. i just... never mind." he waved his hand dismissively, "let's have the little brat back."

Frisk nodded.

" _WHY_ ," Chara said loudly, " _do you have a table but no chairs! Why do we have to eat on the couch like heathens when you have a perfectly good table? It's ridiculous!_ "

Sans slowly relaxed and grinned lazily, "it's unaccep-table." He agreed.

Chara gave him a 'bring it on' look, " _And i'm holding you accoun-table. i would've thought you were far more hospi-table to your new house guests, adap-table at the very least, so that we might be more comfor-table._

Sans sat up and responded with an 'oh it's on' expression, "I'd say the house is very habi-table, are you saying i'm not credi-table?"

" _Well that's deba-table. i would say that you're getting a little exci-table._ " Chara smirked.

"irri-table maybe, it's lamen-table that you can't see how respec-table i am."

" _Predic-table maybe-_ "

"STOPSTOPSTOP!" Papyrus marched out of the kitchen, soapy water dripping from his orange rubber gloves and pointed at them, "NO MORE PUNS!" He glared at Chara, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND! NYOO HOO!" He lamented and walked back into the kitchen shaking his head. They could hear him mutter, "DETESTABLE!"

Chara and Sans looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"geez," Sans said once he got his breath back, "when'd you swallow a dictionary?"

" _i don't mince words_ ," Chara raised an eyebrow, " _i prefer them whole, so i can feel them wriggling when they go down._ "

Sans chuckled and shook his head, "about earlier... frisk said they'd tell you about it but I want you know I meant no harm."

Chara shrugged and grabbed the remote, " _Box boy should be on about now, right?_ "

"INDEED!" Papyrus called from the kitchen, "BUT THEY ONLY SHOW RE-RUNS TODAY!"

" _Fine with me, what about you Frisk?_ Ok with me." They flipped on the tv. The show was some sort of Jazz concert with Mettaton laying on top of a grand piano crooning a ballad in his slightly tinny voice.

There was a sudden flurry of crashing pots and pans and Papyrus ran into the living room, plopping down on the couch between.

"you've still got your dishwashing gloves on, bro." Sans pointed out with a smirk.

"SHHH!" Papyrus waved him to silence.

 _Well,_ Chara said with a sigh, _i think i know why Sans doesn't trust me._

"hmm?" Frisk breathed softly.

 _Down in the basement, during happy, fun question time, he asked you how long you'd been able to save and load. You told him two weeks. You gained control of the timeline at the same time i hitched a ride in your head. He's smart enough to at least suspect the connection._

Frisk frowned and whispered, "he thinks you-?"

 _Probably. That would explain the way he's been acting. It's not like we can tell him the truth. i think he'd probably flip out if we told him we wanted to save the one whose been playing around with the timeline like it was a toy. Don't know if we can hide it from him if he gets proactive about it. That basement lab of his makes me think he used to be, something..._

Frisk nodded.

 _So, i guess, i'll just have to get used to him watching me like a hawk._ They laughed, _i'll be good._

Frisk leaned back in the couch and curled their legs up to their chest. They fell asleep at some point, waking briefly when Papyrus picked them up and carried them up to the bed amalgam and wrapped them in blankets. They slept easy and dreamt of the fight with Undyne.

(a/n: Thus Chara is confronted by their greatest weakness, completely guileless people.

Update on Wednesday. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews on my story, I really do love them. I want to reply to them all but sometimes my depression gets the better of me and I never manage it but just know that I read them all and love them dearly. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Also, also, I wrote a little short story, an undertale fairytale, inspired by beauty and the beast, so if you like you could check it out under my username.

See you wednesday!

ALSO snowsoar drew a little comic based on the last chapter and it's wonderful! Please take a look if you like. snowsoar. tumblr post /137803168535 /umm-this-is-just-a-really-quick-sketchy-comic )


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Frisk woke with their heart pounding and a smile on their lips. It had been so so long since they had a good dream. They sat up quietly. Sans and Papyrus were still sleeping, Sans in a tight little ball of blankets and Papyrus spread out as wide as his mattress.

 _It's no wonder Sans said sleeping with him was just as good as sleeping on the floor._

Frisk grabbed their clothes and crept out of the room and downstairs. They changed, grabbed a banana from the counter to eat and sat on the couch. Even though light never shone in the underground, the early morning could be felt in the silence that seemed to permeate through the walls like an invisible fog.

 _What do you think we should do next?_

"Undyne."

 _But after that?_

Frisk thoughtfully chewed another bite of banana, "Alphys...?"

 _But that means Mettaton as well. Are we not gonna fight him?_

"Gotta, so he makes up with Blooky and Alphys and Shyren." They frowned, "I need to practice so I can do better..."

 _Well, we sort of have a plan at least. That's a definite improvement. And we can keep working on it. At least there's no rush now._

"Mhm." Frisk nodded and popped the last piece of banana in their mouth. They placed their hand over their soul and it filled the room with a red glow. "Chara, look! My hope is normal again."

 _...When did it drop?_ Chara asked in confusion.

"Oh...that was..." they hesitated, "after I got mad at you... my hope dropped to nineteen."

Chara was quiet.

"But it's fine now! I feel better now, it's back to twenty." They heard a faint click of a doorknob and quickly released their soul, dropping the room into darkness.

"GOOD MORNING, FRISK!" Papyrus said brightly as he bounced down the stairs, Sans draped over one arm like a towel.

Sans was deposited on the couch in a snoring lump while Papyrus went into the kitchen and crashed around. Coffee was made for Sans and toast for Frisk, with a light dusting of brown sugar and cinnamon on top.

"When do you have training with Undyne?" Frisk asked.

"NEXT?" Papyrus emerged from the kitchen with a reheated plate of spaghetti for himself, "TOMORROW! THE PERFECT TIME FOR A FRIENDSHIP DATE!"

Frisk nodded firmly, "We're gonna be besties."

"HOW EXCITING! WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS TOGETHER! I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!"

"yay." Sans muttered into his coffee cup. He seemed to have gotten stuck half way between drinking and falling asleep. The cup rested gently against his teeth while his eyes drifted shut.

"SANS!"

He managed to pry one eye open in Papyrus' general direction.

"PERHAPS..." Papyrus grimaced as he said it, "YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO BED."

"you feelin ok, bro?" Sans asked with genuine concern, suddenly wide awake.

"WHAT!? OF COURSE I AM!" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "FRISK TOLD ME YOU USED A LOT OF MAGIC YESTERDAY, SO TODAY YOU SHOULD RECOVER YOUR STRENGTH. JUST TODAY MIND YOU!"

"heh. thanks but, i'd hate to ruin my sterling reputation." Sans sipped his coffee and shrugged, "why sleep at home when i can sleep on the job? "

Papyrus groaned.

"i just never get _tired_ of sleeping." He grinned.

"SANS." Papyrus glared at him.

The grin widened, "it's a great method of _wait_ loss."

"SANS I SWEAR-!"

"sleeping comes so naturally to me, i could do it with my eyes closed."

"NO MORE!" He stomped on the floor in frustration.

Frisk giggled.

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!" Papyrus despaired.

"you were smiling."

"THAT'S JUST MY FACE AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Sans leaned back into the couch and took another drink of coffee with a theatrical sigh of contentment.

Papyrus managed one more seething glare at his brother before his good natured tendencies overwhelmed him and he relaxed. "I HAVE TO PATROL AND CHECK MY PUZZLES. SANS IS DUE AT HIS SENTRY STATION-"

"what about my day off?"

Papyrus ignored him and continued, "SO WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR TODAY?" he asked Frisk and Chara.

"We're gonna explore around Snowdin." Frisk said.

"it might be safer if you stuck with one of us, kiddo." Sans said.

"I'll be ok." Frisk said.

Sans good natured grin never faltered, "just, keep your cell phone on you. no surprises, alright?"

Frisk nodded.

Papyrus dragged Sans along with him to work. Frisk took a bit longer trying to find their missing mitten, it was under the couch.

 _i wonder what Sans is really doing today..._ Chara mused.

Frisk frowned as they pulled on the mittens, "What do you mean?"

 _The Sans from the last timeline would've never turned down taking the day off work. ...It's probably nothing... i'm just really curious about the little potato._

Frisk covered their mouth, "You can't call him a-a p-pota-to!" they giggled helplessly.

 _He calls me a brat._ Chara smirked, _Besides, it suits him._

Once Frisk managed to stop laughing they left the house and ran over to the Snowdin store at the edge of town.

"Hello Ms. Lapin!" Frisk put their hands on the counter and stood up on tiptoe.

The bunny shopkeeper smiled and leaned over to see them better, "Hello, little one, can I get you something on this fine day?"

"Yes!" Frisk smiled hopefully, "Do you know where I can buy chairs?"

"Chairs?!" She chuckled, "What do you need chairs for?"

"Pap and Sans have a table but no chairs so we have to eat on the couch, so I want to buy chairs."

"Hmm... I see. Well that is a noble endeavor." She smiled, "Most folks get furniture and the like from the capital. My store is too small for such things."

"Oh..." Frisk deflated.

"Don't looks so down. I'll call around town and see if anyone has and old chairs they wouldn't mind selling off." She patted Frisk on the head, "You run along and come back here in a few hours and I'll tell you if I've found anything."

"Yay!" They bounced on their toes, "Thank you! I'll be back!"

Ms. Lapin waved as they trotted off into the snowy woods.

 _Where are you going to get the gold to buy chairs? We've got about four gold to our name right now._

"We fight some monsters." Frisk said, holding up their hand and counting off each point, "I can practice sensing magic, they give me gold afterward cause they feel bad about trying to kill me and we make friends. Then we buy chairs."

 _That's a pretty good plan._

"I've been thinkin a lot about what you said about plans."

 _Naturally._

"I'm gonna make them from now on, lots of them." Frisk said, kicking a lump of snow, "I'm gonna figure out the best way for everybody to be happy."

"Hey Scrub! Wanna hear a joke?" Snowdrake fluttered over to them, preening and proud.

Frisk could feel Snowdrake's magic swelling around them. They flexed their hands and summoned their own soul up, before Snowdrake could pull it into battle against their will.

"Yeah!" Snowdrake said excitedly, "Let me t-tell you! Snow- no, shoot." he cleared his throat and tried again, "Ice puns are 'snow' problem!" He unleashed a flurry of white blue of crescents at Frisk.

They dodged and weaved around the attack, their mind wholly focused on the teen's magic.

As the attacks relented Chara piped up with a smirk, " _Come on, that was a good start but you've got to keep up the jokes! Build an atmosphere!_ "

"Build an atmosphere?" Snowdrake looked at them in confusion that quickly shifted to annoyance, "Don't tell me what to do! I can tell jokes just fine!" They cleared their throat again, "Better not 'snow' flake out!" They laughed at their own joke.

Frisk closed their eyes and tried to get better bearing on the feel of Snowdrake's magic. It was not as well formed or as dense as Undyne's. It felt cold and sharp, little white spots of magic, almost like snowflakes, that made them smile. They carefully shifted around a stream crescents and, keeping their soul clear, let one of the magical attacks pass through their hand. It tingled.

" _Another!_ " Chara prompted, " _Come on, you don't want the audience to get bored!_ "

"I- uh..." Snowdrake was sweating, "my favorite iced cereals: 'frosted'!"

" _Good! Feel the pressure and work through it!_ "

Frisk could dodge all Snowdrake's attacks with their eyes closed now. It was a lot easier than fighting Undyne, slower, more predictable.

"M-macaroni and 'freeze'" Snowdrake stuttered.

Chara sighed, " _Well that's a bit of a reach._ "

"Chill out, Scrub!" Snowdrake snapped.

Chara laughed, " _Nice_!"

"O-oh! Laughs! Dad was wrong!" Snowdrake's feathers puffed up proudly. His attacks slowed and dissipated, "Thanks you're all great!" He bowed.

"Thank you for the show." Frisk said.

"Yeah-sure! You're really good at dodging!" Snowdrake said energetically, his tough guy exterior falling away, "But I mean, don't you have any attacks? It's kinda weird."

Frisk shook their head, "Dodging is good enough."

"That's 'snow' fun!" He checked out of the corner of his eye to see if they laughed.

Frisk giggled.

Snowdrake puffed up further.

" _Keep practicing. You've got the drive, you just need some more experience._ " Chara encouraged him. " _You'll be a great comedian in no time if you just put in the time._ "

"I-I'll do it! You'll see! When you see me next time I'll be famous!"

Frisk nodded.

"Well, see you around!" Snowdrake said as he fluttered off.

 _That went pretty well._

"Uhuh!" Frisk counted out the five gold pieces and put them in their pocket.

 _Just so you know, they don't give you money because they feel bad about fighting you. They give it to you because you're a kid. Most monsters start out terrible at magic when they're young. So adults will give them a little pocket money if they do really well in a fight, to encourage them. It's kind of a tradition now._

Frisk frowned slightly, "Maybe I shouldn't take it then?"

 _Nah._ Chara said dismissively, _How else are we going to make money? Besides, you_ are _just a kid learning to use magic._

"...Ok." Frisk said as they walked down the path, "We should find Gryftrot next so we can undecorate them."

 _Heck yeah, they give you a ton of gold._

Frisk narrowed their eyes.

 _And so they can be_ happy _and stuff._ Chara sighed.

Frisk giggled.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?"

A cold feeling crept down their spine, Frisk turned slowly on their heel. Flowey was sitting in the middle of the path, his face twisted into something evil.

"You just wanted to see me suffer." he hissed.

"No, I don't." Frisk said softly.

"That saccharine act won't fool me." Flowey glared up at them in bitter rage, "Those lies you whispered into the echo flower... What happened to kill or be killed!?"

Frisk curled and uncurled their fingers but didn't say a word.

Flowey's stem grew and coiled up until he was eye level with Frisk. He studied their face. His own had changed back into its sweet, simple flower face, etched with confusion, "Are you just messing around? ...Experimenting? Is this just a game?"

" _Yes._ " Chara said blandly.

What? Frisk pulled back in confusion, Why did you say that?

 _If he thinks it's a game he might play along._

"It's a game...?" Flowey sank down slightly.

Frisk nodded.

"What kind?" He turned his head up to them, "I've played with the timeline so many times, I know all the outcomes..."

Frisk hesitated, not knowing what to say.

 _...i don't know..._

"A- A perfect ending sort of game." Frisk finally said.

Flowey's face turned sour, "Those are the worst endings! They're so boring! Nothing happens in them!"

"...I'm gonna try."

He shook his head, his petals swaying back and forth, "I said they're stupid! They're a waste of time! All these stupid monsters are a waste of time! It should be just you and me! Like before!"

Frisk said nothing.

He narrowed his eyes, "...Maybe you're a waste of time too... I thought you were my friend, Chara."

" _...i am_."

"You never want to play what I want to play." He pouted, "Why do we have always have to play your game?"

"I don't wanna-" hurt anyone, they tried to say, but Chara stopped them.

 _That's the last thing he wants to hear._

"You're the worst!" Flowey snapped, his face twisting once more.

With a hiss, the air filled with a hail of white pellets and shot at Frisk, too close, too fast.

They ducked and some missed but a brutal amount pierced through their soul. Frisk cried out and crumpled to the ground. They glared at Flowey through their tears and felt determination surge through them like a white hot heat. They REFUSED and the pain disappeared.

"That's not fair! No healing spells in battle!" Flowey whined.

They wiped their eyes. "Sneak attacks aren't fair either, so there." Frisk muttered, stumbling to their feet and away from Flowey.

"Fine," Flowey shrank down until just his head poked above the ground, "but I'll show you..." he grumbled as he popped beneath the soil.

Frisk shuddered and wrapped their arms tight around themselves.

 _When was the last time you saved?_ Chara asked.

"Before I fought Undyne..." Frisk said softly.

 _...i think you should save a lot more often from now on. Just to be safe._

"Do you think he'll do something bad?"

 _i don't know. He's too different... a monster's soul is made of love and compassion but it seemed like almost all of Azzy was made of the stuff. Without a soul, all that's left of him is someone i don't know very well..._

Frisk took a deep breath and focused on their determination, saving that place in time. They looked at their hands and squeezed them together. They tried to remember how they had recovered their soul. It had been like the final fight against Asriel last time. They had felt that flood of determination and the refusal to die then too, it had been primitive and sudden, like anger or fear. It didn't feel like something they could control. Frisk let out a slow breath and shook their head, something else to work on.

They spent the rest of the day exploring the forest along the Ruin's trail. They fought and befriended a lot of monsters, Chilldrake, a lot of Icecaps and they undecorated Gyftrot. Frisk tried to befriend Jerry despite Chara's groans, until he wiped his greasy chip fingers on their sleeve and Frisk promptly ditched him. Their pockets were heavy with coin when they walked back to the shop.

Ms. Lapin waved at them as they entered the shop, "I found you some chairs!"

"Really?!" Frisk rushed to the counter.

"Dogaressa and Dogamy had a full set of chairs they weren't using, turns out they prefer to eat under the table." She chuckled. "I had my sister's kids deliver them to the skeleton brother's house for you."

"Thank you!" Frisk fumbled out a handful of gold coins, "How much-?"

She chuckled, "Those guard dogs wouldn't have a cent when I said it was you who was asking, neither would my sister, she says her kids love playing with you. So put those away." She waved the coins away.

"A-are you sure?" Fisk asked.

"Course I am!" She smiled brightly, "Since you've come into town everything's brightened right up. You're like a little ball of fire magic."

"Thank you so much!"

"Is there anything else you need?" She asked.

Frisk scanned the shelves.

 _Oh!_ Chara said excitedly before they could stop themselves.

Frisk studied the shelf.

 _I-It's nothing, never mind, never mind._

"What are those?" Frisk asked, pointing to a pair of long pieces of metal.

Ms. Lapin turned and picked them up, setting them on the counter, "My old knitting needles? I say my," She chuckled, "I could never get the hang of it. You know someone who knits?"

Frisk grinned and nodded. They remembered the Mr Dad Guy sweater and the swelling of emotion they had felt from Chara when they saw it.

"Useful skill to have here in the cold." She bent down and pushed a few boxes around underneath the counter, coming up with a small box filled with balls of brightly colored yarn, "I'll sell you the lot for... thirty gold, sound fair?"

Frisk nodded and counted out the coins.

The knitting needles were tucked into the box and Frisk hurried back home excitedly. Stacked next to the front door were a set of six chairs, a little battered but still in good condition.

Frisk giggled excitedly and hurried into the house to put the box down so they could move the chairs into the house. They struggled a bit because they were heavier than they expected, but they eventually got them all inside.

 _Frisk, can i... can i look at the box?_

Frisk nodded and Chara went over to the box. They lifted out the balls of yarn and looked at all the colors, touched the knitting needles reverently.

" _Thank you, Frisk._ " Chara blushed at Frisk's flood of happiness. " _Cut it out, you._ " They chided playfully, putting all the yarn back except a lovely turquoise colored one, which they sat on the very top.

The front door creaked open and they could hear the brothers wiping the snow from their feet.

"whoa, what's all this?"

"HOLY MACKEREL!" Papyrus rushed past his brother to the line of chairs.

Frisk linked their hands behind their back and rocked on their heels, "I got some chairs!"

"THIS IS GREAT! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus sat in one of the chairs with a big grin.

"but how?" Sans ran his hand over the back a chair.

"I asked Ms. Lapin and she helped me find some! They were Dogaressa and Dogamy's but they weren't using them and said we could have them. Chaudry and Lilac brought them over." Frisk smiled hopefully, "I wanted to surprise you. 'Cause you an Pap have helped me n' Chara out a lot."

Sans walked over to them and put and arm over their shoulder and ruffled their hair, "yeah, you did good, kid... kids."

Papyrus trotted over and wrapped his long arms around both Frisk and Sans and squeezed them tightly,"THANK YOU!"

"heh." Sans grinned, "now we just have to make sure undyne doesn't break these ones like she did with the last set."

Frisk frowned.

Chara sighed, _Really?!_

(a/n: Next chapter up on Saturday. Saturday's chapter is expected to contain: 50% friendship, 20% fun, 15% heart to heart chats, 10% anxiety about the future, 5% edible glitter. See you all then peeps!)


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chara glanced up at the tv just in time to see Mettaton rub MTT-Brand Bishie cream where his cheeks might have been. He had hand drawn anime eyes taped onto his display. Chara shook their head.

Looking back down at the knitting in their hands, their fingers working with the yarn effortlessly as if they had never stopped. Chara smiled to themselves.

"gold for your thoughts?" sans asked idly, apparently reading a book.

" _...i never thought i'd be able to do this again._ " The needles clicked together softly.

"what's the kid up to?"

" _They're thinking._ "

"about what?"

Chara shrugged, " _i don't know. i've never tried to snoop into their thoughts and they've never tried to look at mine... you have to have boundaries in this sort of situation._ "

"hm." he lowered the book.

" _i'm not a total asshole._ " Chara muttered.

"never said you were, brat."

" _No,_ " Their hands paused breifly, " _but i know how i come across._ "

"...abrasive maybe." he conceded.

They tugged at the ball until more yarn came free, " _That's a nice way to put it._ "

"i try."

Chara smirked.

"thought you didn't swear." he remarked.

" _Only when the kids are in earshot._ "

Paper rustled as he turned a page. Chara kept their eyes fixed on their fingers.

Sans book slowly lowered. His permanently fixed smile faded slightly, "...what's it like?" he asked, the question almost seeming to force it's way out into the open air. He looked as if he regretted saying it immediately.

Chara paused their knitting, " _Being a ghost? Being alive again? Being dead?_ " They glanced around to make sure Papyrus wasn't in the room and that Frisk was still busy with their own thoughts before continuing, " _Being alive was hard for me, you know how that feels, i would guess. Being dead was the worst thing that's ever happened to me and i would never wish it on anyone, but what happened to me wasn't exactly normal. i think the idea is that after you die you're supposed to stop existing._ "

"that's an understatement."

" _On the other hand, living inside Frisk's soul is impossibly wonderful. It's like... before, my soul, was like standing in the cold with my toes going perpetually numb. Then i woke up in Frisk's soul... and in contrast it's like the summer sun, warm and bright, with enough room to love the whole world._ "

"sounds nice." Sans said.

" _It is._ " Chara said, " _i had almost forgotten what HoPe feel like._ "

Sans looked back down at his book his eyes flickering back and forth on the page but not focusing.

The door to Papyrus' room clicked open and he clattered down the stairs with a large box in his arms, "I HAVE FINISHED REORGANIZING MY BOOKSHELF AND CLEANED OUT THE CLOSET!"

"did the closet need to be cleaned out?" Sans asked

"I MAY HAVE GOTTEN A LITTLE CARRIED AWAY... BUT YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CLEAN!" He sat the box down on the floor, "I FOUND SOME THINGS FRISK AND CHARA MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE!" He plopped down on the couch, "HAVE I MISSED METTATON'S NEW COOKING SHOW!?"

"just about to start." Sans said.

Chara set their knitting aside and knelt on the floor next to the box. Their were a few pieces of clothing, they had been tailored for skeletons so they might fit or even be too small, Chara wouldn't be able to tell until they tried them on. There was a large ratty sweater near the bottom of the box, Chara pulled it out and held it up. It had been black once but was now grey, thin in the elbows, covered in little pills and worn soft and plush.

"OH! I WAS GOING TO THROW THAT OUT!" Papyrus reached for the sweater.

Chara leaned away from him and pulled it on over the striped jumper. " _i like it._ " They pulled the sleeves down until their fingertips just barely poked out and smiled.

"heh."

Chara glared at Sans, " _What?_ "

He shrugged, "you just looked like a kid, is all."

" _i am a kid._ " they huffed and fished around the bottom of the box. More clothes, a thinner pair of gloves and a small red ball about the size of their palm.

"Oh! Can I have that?" Frisk asked, picking up the ball.

Chara blinked in surprise, " _Where'd you come from?_ " Then shrugged " _i don't want it._ "

They glanced at the brothers. Papyrus was already glued to the t.v. a notepad in hand as he took notes of the evenings cooking program. Chara groaned inwardly, Mettaton's cooking inevitably seemed to involve a lot of edible sequins and glitter.

Sans shrugged, "it's an old dog toy. pap bought it to try and keep that annoying dog out of his bones, didn't work. it's all yours."

Frisk squeezed the ball. It squeaked. They tossed the ball in the yarn box and let Chara get back to knitting.

The rest of the evening was uneventful and Chara went to bed early when their fingers started slowing down.

They dreamed they were surrounded by buttercups, their fingers stained yellow and green. Frisk woke with sweat beading their forehead and the memory of a taste in their mouth they had never experienced. Their stomach roiled.

"... _Sorry..i'm sorry, i just... can't..._ " Chara mumbled, curling in on themselves, small and silent in the back of their mind.

Frisk groaned and pressed a hand to their middle.

"you ok, kid?" Sans opened one bleary eye from his blanket cocoon.

They nodded, their mind focused on their tummy, "...Bad dream." They took a deep breath.

The two of them lay in silence for a while. Frisk stomach slowly settled and they felt Chara relax and move closer to them.

"worried about today?" Sans asked, pushing himself up and stretching lazily.

Frisk shook their head. There was a distant crash downstairs as Papyrus fumbled around in the kitchen.

"you gonna give me a run down of what's going to happen?" He asked, "assuming it all works the same as last time."

Frisk stared at the ceiling, "Go to Undyne's house, drink tea and make spaghetti."

"no falling off catwalks or running from a hail of spears?"

Frisk shook their head.

Chara added quietly, " _She_ is _gonna burn her house down and move in with you guys_."

Sans eye twitched and he pressed his palm against it, "i have a very distinct impression i didn't enjoy that last time."

" _She tried to throw the couch at Papyrus._ "

Sans rubbed his head, "that feels about right." he sighed.

Papyrus ran up the stairs and threw the door open, "GOOD MORNING! IT'S TIME TO-! OH, YOU'RE ALREADY AWAKE." He glanced from Frisk to Sans his expression slowly changing from cheerful to troubled confusion.

"what's wrong, bro?" Sans asked, his brows knitting together.

"YOU USUALLY DON'T WAKE UP ON YOUR OWN BUT LATELY YOU HAVE BEEN AND YOU'VE BEEN GOING TO WORK WITH LESS COMPLAINTS THAN USUAL... I AM HAPPY ABOUT IT BUT UPSET AT THE SAME TIME AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY." He tugged at his scarf, "I SHOULD BE HAPPY? I THINK I SHOULD BE HAPPY."

Frisk crawled out of bed and hugged Papyrus' hand.

" _You like taking care of him._ " Chara said.

"BUT-!"

" _You also dislike it. It's ok._ "

"IT CAN BE BOTH?"

" _Yeah, it can be both._ "

Papyrus leaned down and picked them up. Frisk happily clung onto his scarf.

"WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CARRY YOU DOWNSTAIRS SANS?" Papyrus offered.

He grinned, "nah, i got it."

Papyrus carried Frisk down the stairs to the table which, had been pulled out from the wall and now had the chairs arranged around it. The table was set for three.

Before Papyrus sat them down, Frisk tugged on his scarf and whispered, "Do you wanna know a secret?"

"YES!" Papyrus said excitedly, he pseudo lowered his voice, "I AM VERY FOND OF SECRETS!"

Frisk leaned in close and whispered, "Sans hope is a little bit stronger."

"REALLY!?"

Frisk giggled and signaled him to be quieter, "It's almost two but not quite."

Papyrus eyes got big and a couple tears escaped his eye sockets and dripped down his cheek.

Frisk patted the tears away with the edge of his scarf. "Happy tears?" They asked quietly.

He nodded looking a little flustered and very, very happy.

Sans stumbled out of the bedroom and slowly made his way down the stairs. Papyrus sat them on the ground and hurried to the kitchen, wiping his eyes quickly and grabbing a platter loaded with what looked like glittery french toast.

 _You've been peeping on their hope levels?_

"Not on purpose." Frisk hopped onto one of the chairs. "I can just kinda feel it when I hug them."

"feel what?" Sans asked, pulling out a chair.

" _Never-ending respect and gratitude._ " Chara said flatly.

Sans snorted.

Papyrus sat the plate down in the middle of the table and sat down excitedly, "I FOLLOWED THE RECIPE EXACTLY AND I THINK IT TURNED OUT REALLY GOOD!"

Frisk grabbed their fork and stabbed piece of glittery toast. They applied the syrup liberally before taking an experimental bite. The glitter gave the french toast a weird texture but it tasted alright, mostly like syrup.

"pretty good," Sans said, "next time you might try making it without the glitter."

"BUT METTATON SAYS THAT HOW THEY DO IT ON THE SURFACE!" Papyrus protested.

Frisk giggled and shook their head.

"BUT-!"

"they're the expert." Sans nodded at Frisk.

"Sorry, Pap." They said and giggled again. They grinned big. Sans laughed and put on a big cheesy smile, glitter flecked across both of their teeth. They turned their grins on Papyrus who had somehow managed to avoid getting any glitter in his goodnatured smile. He looked at their sparkly smiles and started laughing. Soon they were all laughing so hard they could barely breathe, holding onto the table for support.

"NO MORE GLITTER." Papyrus wheezed in agreement, "HURRY AND EAT OR WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

Frisk finished their piece but decided not to try their luck at another in case their stomach rebelled against them. They quickly changed and got ready to leave, quickly being relative for Sans. While Papyrus was upstairs digging though his box of bones for a suitable present, Frisk made a save point.

Frisk and Papyrus left the house first. He yelled at Sans about being late for work as they walked out the door; trotting over to the ferry with Frisk running to keep up.

"ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE?" He asked them as the ferry boat pushed off the shore and drifted downstream. "I HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE YOU TWO GREAT FRIENDS!"

Frisk gave him a thumbs up and a grin. They reached their arm out of the boat and let their fingertips skim along the surface of the water. It was achingly cold.

"BE CAREFUL." Papyrus chided.

"I will!" Frisk said cheerfully.

 _Papyrus seems... a lot more grown up than i remember. Or he's become more grown up? Is it because we decided to stay with them instead of..._ Chara suddenly went quiet.

Frisk sat up and wiped their hand dry, "Chara? Instead of what?"

 _Frisk... are, are you going to go back to Toriel? Are you going to live with her again when this is all over?_

"It's _we_ now," Frisk said softly. "...what do you want to do?"

 _...i don't know..._

Frisk nodded, "Me neither..." they sighed, "I try not to think about her too much... it makes me sad."

Papyrus gave them a concerned look and offered his hand. "CAN I HELP?"

" _You are very helpful already_." Chara assured them with a cheeky smile.

Frisk giggled and nodded, grabbing hold his glove with both hands.

"We're here." The river person hummed softly as the boat drifted to the shore.

Papyrus gripped their hands tightly and lifted, swinging them onto the shore in one fluid motion. Frisk squealed with delight.

"Again?!" Frisk asked.

Papyrus stepped onto the shore, hesitating before saying, "...JUST ONCE!" He took their hands and lifted them high and swung them around in a half circle. Frisk giggled breathlessly as he set them back down, eyes sparkling brighter than breakfast.

"One more time?" They asked hopefully, bouncing on their toes.

He waved a finger at them, "THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME AFTER!" he shook his head and hurried across the dimly lit cavern towards Undyne's house.

"Promise?"

"PROMISE!" he stopped in front of her door and waved at them to stand behind him. Papyrus handed them a short bone wrapped with a red ribbon. "MAKE SURE TO GIVE HER THIS! SHE LOVES THESE!" he assured them.

Frisk curled their fingers around the magical bone. Papyrus' magic was significantly denser than any they had ever felt before, but had no sharpness, unlike Undyne's.

Papyrus knocked on the door and after a few seconds it swung open.

"Hi Papyrus! Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?" Undyne grinned.

(a/n: This chapter 100% got away from me, it was just supposed to be Undyne's house, that's it, one chapter, Undyne's house, but then that didn't happen and the chapter kept getting longer and longer but it wasn't done but it's saturday, so I decided to cut it in half, I mean, two 4 page chapters are better than one 8 page chapter that isn't done yet right? Right? Please feel free to tell me if my story has totally gone off the rails, I feel like I meander a lot and just let the characters talk instead of PLOT but I like it, do you like it? Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble, it's been a rough couple days...

welp... I'm just gonna go burn Undyne's house down now... see you on wednesday. Bring marshmallows, we can make s'mores)


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Papyrus knocked on Undyne's door and after a few seconds it swung open.

"Hi Papyrus! Ready for your extra-private, one-on-one training?" Undyne grinned.

"YOU BET I AM! AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!" Papyrus stepped aside to reveal Frisk.

"Hi I don't think we've..." her toothy smile twisted into a snarl and her eyes dilated, she glared at Papyrus.

Papyrus' bone rattled faintly in distress. His hopeful grin remained steadfast.

"Why don't. You two. Come in?" She hissed through clenched teeth. Frisk could see the muscle in her jaw spasming.

Papyrus rushed through the door, wiping his feet on the mat in a nervous little dance.

There was a flash of golden yellow in the corner of Frisk's eye. They looked around anxiously but didn't see anything. They saved and hurried inside.

"HERE UNDYNE, MY FRIEND BROUGHT A GIFT FOR YOU,"

Frisk held up the bone like an offering

"ON THEIR OWN." Papyrus helpfully took the bone from Frisk and passed it to Undyne.

"Uh...thanks." she sighed slightly and took the bone with a polite grin, "I'll uh, put it with the others." She tossed in a cupboard drawer where the bone gently clinked against about thirty other bones. "So are we ready to start?" She asked.

"WHOOPSY DOOPSY!" Papyrus said loudly and flatly, like someone reading a script, "I JUST REMEMBERED! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! YOU TWO HAVE FUN!" He gave a brief frantic wave and threw himself out the window in a shower of glass. There was a faint clatter as he smacked into the wall just outside window and slid down on the ground.

Frisk sighed.

Undyne stared.

Eventually they turned back to face one another.

"So why are YOU here?" She glared at them accusingly, "To rub you victory in my face? To humiliate me even further? IS THAT IT?" She snapped.

Frisk shook their head no.

She shook her head slightly, "Then why are you here?" Her eye dilated and a snarly grin crept up the side of her face, "...Wait, I get it." she looked down on them, "You think I'm gonna be friends with you, huh? Right?" she sneered.

"...I would like that very much." Frisk said softly.

Undyne laughed, "Really? How delightful! I accept." she said mockingly, "Let's all frolic in the fields of friendship! NOT!" she snapped, "Why would I EVER be friends with you!?"

Frisk rung their hands together and looked down at their feet.

"If you weren't my houseguest, I'd beat you up right now!"

 _You'd have to be able to hit Frisk first._ Chara said lazily.

Frisk smiled slightly and quickly smothered the expression, keeping their head down.

"You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams! I WILL NEVER BE YOU FRIEND." She said flatly, "Now, get out of my house!" She snarled, her hands twisting into fists.

Undyne and Frisk turned as there was the faint crunch of broken glass outside and Papyrus popped back into view through the window. "DANG! WHAT A SHAME... I THOUGHT UNDYNE COULD BE FRIEND WITH YOU. BUT," His smile became slight cheeky, "I GUESS... I OVERESTIMATED HER. SHE'S JUST NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE." Then he sighed dramatically and walked away.

 _Bravo good sir, bravo._ ... _Would've slow clapped but, you know, no hands._

"CHALLENGE!? What!?" Her whole body tensed up as she shouted after him, "Papyrus! Wait a second...!" she tisked, "Darnit! He thinks I can't be friends with you!?" She glared at them and laughed haughtily, "Fuhuhu! What a joke! I could make friends with a wimpy loser like you any day!"

Frisk put their hands on their hips with a huff.

"I'll show him!" She muttered under her breath then lifted her chin and told them, "Listen up, human. We're not just going to be friends. We're going to be..." she paused for dramatic effect, "BESTIES. I'll make you like me so much... You won't be able to think of anyone else!"

 _It amazes me how she manages to make that sound like a threat._

Frisk pressed their lips together to keep from grinning.

"Fuhuhuhu! It's the PERFECT REVENGE!" She laughed to herself.

 _Also, she watches way too much anime._

Undyne paused for a second and her entire demeanor changed like someone had flipped a light switch, "Why don't you have a seat." she said cheerfully, clasping her hands in front of herself.

 _She's like a stereotypical rival character. ...This must be her redemption arc._

"pff-" Frisk hurriedly pushed Chara into control. Stop trying to make me laugh!, They scolded Chara, This is important!

" _i like your sword._ " Chara said, syrupy sweet.

Undyne instantly perked up, "Humans suck, but their history... kinda rules. Case in point: this giant sword!" She gestured excitedly, "Historically, humans wielded swords up to ten times their size. RIGHT?"

" _Oh, absolutely._ " Chara said without a trace of doubt in their voice.

"Heh, I knew it!" Undyne did a fist pump in the air, "When I heard that, I immediately wanted one! So me and Alphys built a giant sword together. She figured out all the specs herself. She's smart, huh!?"

Chara nodded, " _A very accomplished engineer._ "

The corner of Undyne's eye twitched slightly but she kept the smile in place.

Having fun? Frisk asked tartly.

They nodded.

Well..., Frisk relented, I saved outside the door. So, I guess you can.

Chara's smile grew a little wider and they sat down at the table; propping their chin on their hands with a beatific smile.

"Comfortable?" She said stiffly, "I'll get you something to drink." She went over to the fridge and pulled out a strange assortment of thing to store in a hot fridge and spread them across the counter.

Chara pointed to the tower of tea boxes with one finger, " _Golden flower tea, please._ "

Briefly a flicker of confusion passed over Undyne's face then as shook her head, "...tea, huh? Coming right up."

Undyne set the kettle on the stove top to boil and turned back to face them with her very best hostess smile. She said, "It'll take a moment for the water to boil." Sweat began beading on her forehead. Chara held eye contact, their polite smile never wavering. Undyne turned back towards the stove, her back tensing like a spring as silence filled the room.

Frisk sighed, I don't know why you find this fun.

The silence got so intense it made Chara's scalp prickle. They smiled wider in delight. The kettle began to whistle gently and Undyne let out a breath so rushed it was almost a gasp.

"Okay, it's all done!" She quickly stepped over to the sink and rinsed out her blue, fish tea cup. Dumped some sugar in it, filled it with tea and set it neatly in front of Chara, "Here we are." then sat on the stool opposite them. "Careful, it's hot."

Chara let their face relax into Frisk's neutral expression. They blew on the molten hot liquid, toying the cups' handle.

Undyne tapped on the table impatiently, the tempo slowly increasing until she snapped, "It's not THAT hot! Just drink it already!"

Chara lifted the cup and made a sipping noise, not particularly keen on burning their tongue.

"It's pretty good right?" She smiled a bit manically. "Nothing but the best for my ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS FRIEND!"

Chara nodded, cradling the cup in their hands and blowing on it occasionally. The silence started to build again.

Sweat beaded her forehead again. Undyne spoke up, "You know... It's kind of strange you chose THAT tea. Golden Flower tea..." her voice trailed off, "That's Asgore's favorite kind." She smiled ruefully, "Actually, now that I think about it. You kind of remind me of him." She slapped the table, "You're both TOTAL weenies!"

Chara raised an eyebrow and took a sip of tea, it was tooth achingly sweet.

"...sort of." she sighed, "You know I was a pretty hot-headed kid. Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight Asgore. Emphasis on the TRIED." She spread her hands out on top of the table, "I couldn't land a single blow on him! And worse, the whole time, he refused to fight back!" She closed her eyes briefly, "I was so humiliated."

They leaned forward slightly and nodded for her to continue.

"Afterwards, he apologized and said something goofy. 'Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?'" Undyne gestured widely with her arms, "I said yes, and from then on, he trained me. One day, during practice, I finally knocked him down."

Chara swallowed hard and sat the teacup down.

Undyne slid her palms across the table. She frowned slightly, her brow furrowing, "I felt...bad." She took a deep breath and smiled ruefully at the recollection, "But he was beaming..."

Their fingers trembled against the chipped blue ceramic.

"I had never seen someone more proud to get their but kicked." She laughed. "...Anyway, long story short, he kept training me and now I'm he head of the Royal Guard! So I'm the one who gets to train dorks to fight! … like, uh, Papyrus." Undyne rubbed her neck and looked down at her hands, her voice went quiet, "But, um, to be honest... I don't know if... I can ever let Papyrus into the Royal Guard." Her gaze snapped back up and she glared at them, "Don't tell him I said that!"

" _i won't._ " Chara assured her.

She relaxed, "He's just... well..." she smiled ruefully, "I mean, it's not that he's weak. He's actually pretty freaking tough! It's just that... He's... he's too innocent and nice!"

Chara smiled ruefully and nodded.

"I mean, look, he was SUPPOSED to capture you and he ended up making FRIENDS with you instead!" She snapped irritably.

Chara lifted their hands and did an exaggerated shrug.

"I could NEVER, send him into battle!" Undyne grimaced, "He'd get ripped into little smiling shreds. That's part of why I started teaching him how to cook, you know?"

They nodded.

"So, um, maybe he can do something else with his life." she shot to her feet, "I was talking for so long, you're out of tea, aren't you? I'll get you some more." She stood up and started to reach for the teacup then froze, "Wait a second. Papyrus... his cooking lesson... HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW!" She braced her feet, her eye blazed, "And if HE'S not here to have it," She pointed at them, "YOU'LL HAVE TO HAVE IT FOR HIM!"

Undyne leapt across the room and onto the kitchen counter which groaned ominously but did not buckle. She charged across the counter, kicking off everything in her way. Chara stood and grinned.

"That's right! NOTHING has brought Papyrus and I closer than cooking! Which means that if I give you his lesson... WE'LL BECOME CLOSER THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!" She put her hands on her waist and laughed triumphantly, then thrust a single pointed finger at them, "Afraid!? We're gonna be best friends!"

Chara ran over to the counter.

Frisk groaned.

"Fuhuhuhu! That's the spirit!" Undyne crowed, jumping down beside them with a boom, "Let's start with the sauce!" She stomped on the floor, the whole house shuddered and a handful of tomatoes, a carrot and a banana fell from the ceiling.

"Envision these vegetables as your greatest enemy!" She instructed, "Now! Pound them to dust with your fists!"

Chara raised their fists and smashed them down on two of the tomatoes. They split and juice squirted across the countertop. They looked at Undyne excitedly.

"YEAH! YEAH!" She pumped her fist, "Our hearts are uniting against these healthy ingredients!" She pushed them aside, "NOW IT'S MY TURN!" She whipped her hand up like a lance and the vegetables exploded into mush, juice sprayed across the kitchen.

" _Yeah!_ " Chara said excitedly.

"We'll just scrape this into a bowl later!" Undyne wiped the sauce from her cheeks, "But for it NOW!" She smashed on the floor again and a box of spaghetti and a pot fell from the ceiling and clanged onto the stovetop. "-We add the noodles! Homemade noodles are the best! BUT I JUST BUY STORE- BRAND! THEY'RE THE CHEAPEST!" She flexed both arms with a shout. She sucked in a deep breath and completely relaxed, pressing both hands together, "Uhh, just put them in the pot."

Chara grabbed the box of noodles and threw the whole thing in enthusiastically, it rattled around the bottom. They checked with Undyne.

"YEAH! I'M INTO IT!" Undyne crowed, pressing her hand onto Chara's head and excitedly ruffling their hair into a tangled mess, "Alright! Now it's time to stir the pasta! As a general rule of thumb, the more you stir... THE BETTER IT IS!" She slapped the counter, "Ready?"

Chara grabbed the wooden spoon and lifted it in the air, poised over the pot; their face etched with determination.

"Let's do it!"

Chara stood on tiptoe, and stirred stirred the pasta as fast as their arms could manage. The pot rattled like a drum as Undyne urged them on.

"Ugh! Let me do it!" She flipped the spoon and their arm out of the way and with a flick of her wrist summoned a blue spear, smashing down into the pot repeatedly until the metal began to buckle and the stove creaked.

"Fuhuhuhu! That's the stuff!" Undyne wiped the sweat from her brow, "Alright, now for the final step: TURN UP THE HEAT!" She turned to Chara and squeezed their shoulder, her eyes shining, "Let the stovetop symbolize your passion!" She shook her fist passionately, "Let your hopes and dreams turn into burning fire! READY?"

Chara nodded, eyes wide.

Undyne grinned big and toothy, "Don't hold anything back!"

Chara turned the stove dial up.

"Hotter!" Undyne urged.

They could feel the heat radiating from the stovetop on their face. They turned the dial.

"HOTTER, DARNIT!"

The pot was seething and sagging in the heat. Chara turned the heat up higher and stumbled back as flames began to lick the side of the pot.

"Hotter!" She reached to turn the stove up herself and then flinched back as the flames shot up, almost scorching her, "Wait, that too-!"

The stove flared and the ceiling began to crackle with flames. Undyne and Chara backed away.

"Ah. Man, no wonder Papyrus sucks as cooking."

Chara shook their head with a laugh that turned into a cough.

"So what's next? Scrap booking, friendship bracelets?" Undyne said with forced enthusiasm.

Flames began to crawl along the wall behind the stove.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" She said in disgust, "I really screwed this up, didn't I? I can't force you to like me-"

" _But i do_!" Chara grabbed her hand, " _i do_!" They coughed. The smoke made their chest hurt.

She shook her head, "Some people just don't get along with each other."

" _i think you're really cool! You're the heroine of the underground!_ " Chara looked at her with admiration.

"I tried to kill you!" Her brow furrowed in disbelief.

" _You tried to save everyone!_ " They pressed a hand to their mouth as another cough racked them, " _You were willing the carry the burden of my life for everyone; for Asgore so he wouldn't have to suffer another death!_ "

She stepped forward and steadied them.

" _You're brave and strong and good._ " Chara assured her hoarsely.

She said, "Let's go outside-"

There was a faint silence amidst the crackle of the fire. Briefly, Chara saw a flash of blue and white behind Undyne, that just as quickly vanished leaving in it's wake-

"WOSH U HOUSE!" -a very distraught Woshua.

Water sprayed everywhere as the Woshua spun in a circle of panic and despair. Chara put their arms up and tried to twist out of the way.

"WHAT THE-!" Undyne took a full blast to the back and stumbled to her knees. Her eyes blazed and she snarled, "Cut it out!"

The fires hissed and guttered out under the onslaught of soapy water. Foam began to collect in the corners. Water sloshed over their toes.

"I SAID-!" Undyne grabbed the Woshua and raised them over her head, opening the door with kick of her boot, and hurling them out the door, "CUT IT OUT!"

Water trickled out the open door. The smell of lemony soap lingered in the air. Undyne stood there panting and soaked to the bone, her red hair plastered across her shoulder and back. Chara wiped the hair from their face.

Frisk was giggling. Chara tried to give them control but Frisk pushed them back.

I don't wanna be wet! Frisk said between the giggles.

Chara sighed and rang out the front of their shirt.

Undyne tugged her hair free. "Did you mean it?" she said.

" _Huh?_ "

"Did you mean what you said before?" she asked.

Chara felt themselves begin to flush, they nodded, "... _Yeah._ "

She looked resigned, and tsked "At first, I hated your stupid saccharine shtick, but... after fighting you, I know you aren't just some wimpy loser." She snorted and grinned as dinner plate, "You're a wimpy loser with a big heart. Just like him..."

Chara's cheeks got hot and they swallowed hard, " _Thank you._ "

"Listen, human. It seems that you and Asgore are fated to fight. But kn-"

" _No_." Chara cut her off, " _No more fighting, no more fate. We'll make our own destinies, where no one has to get hurt._ "

"That so?" She raised an eyebrow. "I like your spunk, punk. Now, let's get the hell out of this stinking house." She put her arm around their waist and carried them through the door like a piece of luggage.

" _Whoa! I can walk, you know!_ " Chara tried to wiggle away, " _I can walk_!"

They were barely two meters out of the door when Undyne dropped them on the ground.

Chara sat up with a groan. Across the room, Sans was leaning against the cavern wall, grinning like a cheshire cat.

Undyne's eye twitched, her grin took a slightly manic edge, "WHY aren't you at your station?"

"i'm paroling the area." he said.

"You're a SENTRY, you don't patrol!" She snapped

"that so?" he shrugged, "my mistake."

Undyne sighed, "And here, I didn't think it wasn't possible to be more incompetent!"

Sans nodded towards them, "you ok, kid?"

Chara nodded and managed a half-hearted thumbs up.

"pap'll be along to pick you up soon."

"Good!" Undyne grinned, "I'm gonna hang out at his house til my house airs out since," She glowered, "I HATE THE SMELL OF LEMONS!"

Sans grin froze and his eye twitched.

" _Oh my god!_ " Chara laughed, " _Hahaha! You dropped the Wosh-!_ " They had to brace their hand on the ground, " _To k-ha!-keep her from staying with- haha!_ " They rolled on to the ground laughing, clutching their stomach, " _and it TOTALLY backfired!_ "

Sans groaned and shook his head.

"What's the joke?" Undyne asked.

"me, apparently." Sans said, smiling a little despite himself.

(a/n: Gosh, golly, gee-wiz darn-it, my marshmallows got all soggy. Who coulda seen that coming, not me that's for sure.

The next four days for me are going to be super busy and I haven't even started the next chapter so I'm gonna have to push the next update to Wednesday the 10th.

Man, I got a ton of REALLY, SUPER NICE messages from last weeks chapter and I just wanna say thank you! It had been a rough week and I was feeling kinda burned out and all those messages made me feel hella better. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Oh, and um, in the game, in the tile puzzle, Papyrus says that going on the purple, slippery soap tile will make you smell like lemons, which piranhas do not like! It's just a stupid little joke I couldn't resist putting in. Gah, I am such a dork.)


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"So let me get this straight." Undyne pointed her fork at Frisk, "You're two people?"

Frisk nodded. "Chara's like a ghost, they're sharing my soul."

"And you're Frisk?" Her brow furrow and she smacked the table with her fist, "Too confusing!" The plates jumped and rattled.

Sans laid his head on the table looking particularly burnt out. He sighed.

"Who was I talking to at my house?" She asked.

"Chara mostly."

"The ghost?" She tapped the fork on her plate.

Frisk nodded. "They think you're really cool."

" _Cut it out._ " Chara groaned.

"You said it!" Frisk said.

Undyne sat back and crossed her arms.

"you get used to it after a while." Sans muttered.

"DINNER IS SERVED!" Papyrus sat a large platter filled with spaghetti in the middle of the table. It smelled wonderful. Sans slowly pushed himself up.

"YOU MADE THIS!?" Undyne crowed, looking at Papyrus in astonishment.

Papyrus glowed with pride as he served everyone a heaping helping of spaghetti. "FRISK AND CHARA HAVE BEEN HELPING ME! THEY ARE VERY KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT COOKING. NOT AS KNOWLEDGEABLE AS YOU OF COURSE!"

Undyne slapped the table with a laugh, "I'm a terrible cook!" She spun a ball of spaghetti on her fork the size of a softball and ate it enthusiastically. "This is amazing! IT TASTES LIKE FOOD!"

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus grinned.

Frisk took a big bite. It was pretty good. Papyrus had the basics down now and had learned how recipes work.

Sans grabbed the bottle of ketchup. Papyrus tried to snatch it away from him but seemed to miss completely. Frisk felt something strange for a second, something seemed to linger in the air, a touch of Sans' magic. They realized that he must have stopped time for just a second to move the bottle just out of Papyrus' reach. Sans grinned triumphantly to Papyrus' scowl.

"So you're not heading for the barrier?" Undyne asked Frisk, using the tines of the fork to pick her teeth clean.

Frisk shook their head.

She narrowed her eyes, "Then why'd you go through Waterfall?"

Frisk stared at her blankly.

"waterfall is beautiful this time a year." Sans said.

"FRISK SAID THEY-"

"very scenic." Sans cut him off, giving Papyrus a meaningful look.

"NYEH?" Papyrus tilted his head.

" _Papyrus and Sans would've lost their jobs and their home if we stayed with them while you were hunting us down._ " Chara said, looking at a forkful of spaghetti critically, " _We didn't want that. Neither of us like being a burden._ "

"YOU'RE NOT A BURDEN! YOU'RE BOTH WONDERFUL, LIKE ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" he stabbed a thumb at his chest.

"don't worry about us, kid." Sans said.

Frisk nodded halfheartedly.

They finished dinner and watched a little tv. There wasn't room on the couch for all of them, Undyne picked Frisk up and put them on her lap, Sans sat on the floor. Mettaton's show was one of his one-robot productions were he performed all the roles and Papyrus and Undye got into a heated debate over what was actually going on. Sans was reading again. When Frisk glanced over his shoulder they couldn't make out what the book was about, the text was infuriatingly small and full of math, and the math was filled with numbers and strange symbols Frisk didn't recognize.

"BEDTIME!" Papyrus announced, turning the tv off with a click of the remote when the show was over.

Undyne stretched out on the couch as they all stood out, her long legs hanging out over the end.

"I'LL GET YOU A BLANKET." Papyrus said helpfully, trotting up to his room, with Frisk and Sans trailing after him up the stairs.

At Pap's doorway a hand pressed on top of Frisk and Sans head, "What's this?! A sleepover?" Undyne leaned over them with a grin.

They hadn't heard her follow them up.

"Fuhuhuhu! I'll just sleep with you guys then!" She hooked her arms around their waists and dove onto the mattresses, knocking Papyrus down with them in a tangle of limbs and general shouts of dismay.

Sans grumbled and muttered to himself but no one had the heart to kick Undyne out so they all crowded in together. Undyne ended up more or less in the middle, Frisk wedged between her and Papyrus at their insistence. When she saw Frisk give the Sans and Pap their goodnight forehead tap she had to have one too, as their bestest best friend which, Frisk was only to happy to give her.

Frisk woke up too early, Undyne's elbow digging into their side and Papyrus' hand laying on their face. They wiggled out of the tangle of exuberant sleepers and slipped downstairs. Sans was curled up on the couch in a thin blanket, another victim of the bed hogs.

 _Are you gonna try and sleep some more?_ Chara asked.

Frisk shook their head.

 _Would it be ok if i do some knitting?_

Frisk nodded.

Chara grabbed their needles and yarn from the top of the box. They spread the scarf across their arm, it was almost done. They fingered the last bit of they had knitted and frowned, they had dropped a stitch but it wasn't too far in so they're be able to pick it back up without too much hassle. They sat on the end of the couch opposite Sans. There was some light in the room, the natural dimness of outside filtering through the undrawn windows, but it was still difficult to see much detail. Chara had to knit slowly, going by feel and keeping count of the stitches in their head. The rhythmic motion was intensely soothing.

Sans shifted in his sleep, curling in tighter on himself. Chara glanced over at him. His brow twitched and furrowed, he twisted the blanket tight in his hands. Chara sighed and softly started humming, the only song they knew by heart, _his_ song. The song filled the stillness of the room, their needles slowed to the tempo of the music. Sans' brow relaxed and his breathing slowed. Chara smiled.

When morning came Undyne championed them eating breakfast at Grillby's and Pap was quite suddenly a huge fan of grease, though the strained expression on his face suggested otherwise.

"welp, i'm off." Sans said with a wave as they left Grillby's.

"YOU DON'T HAVE WORK TODAY, SANS... YOU COULD COME WITH US." Papyrus said.

"and miss out on some valuable nap time?" Sans joked.

Papyrus rolled his eyes.

"i'll sleep you later." he said over his shoulder.

Undyne slung her arm around Papyrus' neck and squeezed, "Who need that lazybones anyway?!" She grinned, "I'd be more annoyed but I admire his dedication."

Papyrus was silently watching Sans' hunched back as he walked away. Frisk did too, it looked like he was walking at an angle, one that would lead to the lab, rather than the front door.

"What's up?" Undyne asked genuinely confused, glancing from Papyrus to Frisk.

Papyrus twisted his hands together, "SANS HAS BEEN ACTING, DIFFERENTLY, LATELY. ...IT REMINDS ME OF HOW HE WAS BEFORE."

" _Is that good or bad?_ " Chara asked.

"BOTH." he sighed, "BEFORE HE HAD MORE HOPE BUT HE WAS VERY... UPSET. HE WOULDN'T TALK TO ME ABOUT IT, SO I NEVER KNEW WHY."

Frisk reached up. Papyrus lowered his hands and Frisk took one squeezing it tight, "It's gonna be ok this time. I promise."

"Look." Undyne said, rapping on the back of Papyrus' skull with her knuckles, "I don't know your brother very well but you're not alone and he's not alone right? So NO MORE MOPING!" She smiled hugely, "Now, lets go! I haven't been to Snowdin for a while so we're gonna do an inspection!"

"What are you inspecting for?" Frisk asked.

"Whatever I want!" Undyne laughed, as she half dragged, half guided Papyrus across the bridge. Frisk took a second to make a save point, then trotted after them.

They spent the morning inspecting. Undyne inspected sentry stations, Papyrus inspected his puzzles and Frisk and Chara inspected the guard dog pet satisfaction levels (they were perilously low). Until they reached the Ruin's sentry station, currently sans Sans.

Undyne kicked up a lump of snow.

"EVERYTHING HAS BEEN INSPECTED."

"I know." Undyne frowned.

"THERE IS STILL A LOT OF DAY LEFT..."

"I KNOW." She glared at Papyrus then shrugged, "I guess we're done."

Frisk looked up from where they had been building an army of tiny snowmen and shook the snow off their gloves.

She grinned evilly, "TOMORROW, I'll train you all till you wished you were dead," Her smile gentled, "but we can have the rest of today off."

Papyrus' bones rattled faintly. "I-I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!"

"That's the spirit!" She smacked him heartily across the back.

Frisk raised their hand, "Can I help?" They asked.

Undyne bent down to look at them, her eyes narrowing.

"I could tell the guards how to spot a bad human?" They said hesitantly.

Undyne nodded, "Good idea." and ruffled their hair.

Frisk grinned and combed their hair straight with their fingers.

"Let's head back." Undyne said.

"...um..." Frisk scuffed at the snow, their eyes locked on their toes.

Papyrus and Undyne turned towards them.

"What is it, punk?"

"...if you don't have to work anymore can... can I ask you something?" They said softly.

"ANYTHING!" Papyrus assured them, "THERE'S NOTHING THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T KNOW."

Frisk glanced up at them through their bangs, "would you... teach me about magic? Like I was a babybones?"

Papyrus and Undyne looked at each other.

Undyne shrugged. "...It's like" She squeezed her hands into fists and flexed, "Ngaah! And Woomp!" A blue spear formed in her hand with a hiss. She bounced it in the palm of her hand a few times then let it dissipate.

Papyrus rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "SANS WOULDN'T TEACH ME HOW TO USE MAGIC. I JUST TRIED TO COPY WHAT HE DID AND FIGURED IT OUT EVENTUALLY."

"He wouldn't teach you?" Undyne frowned, "What a lazy jerk."

"HE SAID I'D ONLY GET HURT IF I LEARNED."

"what? What? WHAT?! HOW'S THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK!?" Undyne threw up her arms. "IF YOU CAN'T DEFEND YOURSELF, YOU'LL _ONLY_ GET HURT!"

"NYEH HEH HEH..." Papyrus laughed halfheartedly. "HE TAUGHT ME A LITTLE, EVENTUALLY, AND OTHER MONSTERS TAUGHT ME SOME..."

Frisk stared up at them.

They stared down. Undyne sighed. Papyrus rubbed the back of his head.

"Got it!" Undyne snapped her fingers, "Gimme your phone Papyrus."

"WHAT ABOUT YOUR PHONE?" Papyrus said.

Undyne eye widened and her grin became far more toothy, "NOW."

He cringed and fished his phone out of his breastplate. "PLEASE DON'T BREAK IT."

"Please, thanks." She snatched his phone and began tapping in a number. It rang quietly for a long time then a robot voice informed them that the number was unavailable. Undyne muttered under her breath. She very slowly tapped in a text message, her tongue sticking out slightly between her teeth in concentration. "...undyne, pik... up dork... Send." She waited a few seconds then called again.

Alphys picked up, "Undyne? H-hi."

"Sup, nerd." Undyne said affectionately. She squinted at the phone and punched a few buttons and put the phone on speaker.

"I didn't recognize the n-numb-" Alphys' stuttered.

"How'd you teach a kid about magic?"

"Uh...ummm?" Alphys' said, "I-I don't understand..."

"A runty little kid doesn't know anything about magic and wants a nerd answer. So I called you!" Undyne grinned.

"Well...I guess I c-could help a little..." She cleared her throat, "Monsters are made of magic, their s-souls are the source of the magic used in um, used outside their bodies, l-like when they make bullets."

Frisk stepped closer and Undyne held the phone lower so they could hear better.

Alphys continued, "T-there are two types of magic in, when monsters duel... compete? The magic that most monsters can do... their primary attack, it like, it's uh, the most natural expression of their magic. Uh, um..." she paused, "l-like your spear. It can be improved o-of course, your magic, it-it probably started out a lot different than it is now."

"Heck yeah! It was like, small and just a lance, the better I got, the bigger and awesomer it got! Then I figured out how to form the spear point like, YEAH!" she squeezed her hand into a fist.

"Ha. Ha. Y-yeah."

"WHAT'S THE SECOND TYPE OF MAGIC?" Papyrus asked.

They could hear a faint crash through the phone and the sound of scrambling. "I-I d-didn't know P-Papyrus w-was there..." She took a deep shaky breath, "...ok, ok, um, right, the second type of magic. It's uhh, using your magic to directly influence the soul of another, like your green attack."

"AND MY BLUE ATTACK!"

"Those sorts of a-attacks require a lot more skill and practice. The b-better you are the longer the e-effect lasts."

Undyne frowned, "ARE YOU SAYING PAPYRUS IS BETTER THAN ME?!"

"N-no! Of course n-not!" Alphys said quickly.

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus stood a little taller, his scarf blowing away from him as he posed heroically.

Undyne slumped, "Maybe he has better magic control but I win on pure strength!" She grinned and grabbed Papyrus, lifting him like a barbell over her head with a "NGAHHH!"

Frisk picked up the phone from where it had fallen in the snow. They turned off the speaker and put the phone to their ear.

"Undyne? H-hello?" Alphys said.

"Sorry, she's busy wrestling with Pap." Frisk said apologetically.

"Oh... Wait, w-who-? Who is this?"

"I'm Frisk, we haven't met yet."

Alphys squeaked in surprise.

"I would very much like to be your friend." Frisk continued.

"OH! OH. Oh my. I-I uhh, I-I-" The line suddenly went dead.

 _She hung up... Wow. I forgot how anxious she is when you first met her._

Frisk nodded with a hmm. They texted Alphys, 'R u ok?'

'i didn't mean to hang up phones make me nervous v.v' she texted back.

Frisk didn't even know it was possible to type that fast. At least Papyrus had a nicer phone so texting wasn't too hard.

Frisk replied, 'its ok.'

'were you the one who wanted to know about magic?' she replied.

There was a spray of snow as Undyne hurled a snow ball the size of a boulder and Papyrus frantically dove out of the way. He summoned a wave of bones to throw snow into the air and ran for the treeline.

Frisk made a save point and moved behind the sentry station, kneeling down under the counter. 'Yes.' they texted.

'why?'

'cure...' Frisk frowned, "How do you spell 'curious'?" They asked Chara.

 _C-U-R-I-O-U-S_

'curious' Frisk sent.

'i'm not really an expert on magic theory' there was a long, long pause, then another text followed the first, 'you should ask sans'

Frisk read the text twice, brow furrowing.

 _Alphys and Sans know each other now? ...before? It... could it be connected to the lab behind his house? ...Maybe they learned science together? or... i don't know!_ They grumbled in frustration.

"TURNING MY SOUL GREEN IS CHEATING!" Papyrus shouted.

Undyne laughed manically, "Eat snow, chump!" There was a wumph sound. Frisk peaked over the counter to see Undyne pressed face down in the snow, her soul a vivid blue. "YOU!" she snarled, trying to struggle to her feet.

Frisk looked back down at the screen, 'U know Sans?' they asked.

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH! YOU CAN'T BEAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS' SOUL MAGIC!" Papyrus pointed at her. He was standing on the other side of the path in front of the trees, pinned in place by Undyne's green magic.

Paps cellphone pinged, 'not really'

 _Somehow, I expected that._

"Yeah." Frisk sighed. They looked at the phone finger hovering over the keypad for a long time. They glanced over the counter and saw that Undyne and Papyrus were frantically throwing snow at one another from where they were pinned down.

Frisk texted, 'Thnx. Talk to U later.' and put Paps' cellphone in their pocket. Frisk approached the two cautiously and waved both their arms until they got their attention.

Frisk smiled, "Would you train me?"

"I still can't teach magic, punk." Undyne said.

"I wanna practice dodging."

Undyne smiled really big, "Like when we fought before?"

Frisk nodded.

"Hell yeah! That gets me pumped! PAPYRUS LET MY SOUL GO!" She snapped.

Frisk glanced to where Papyrus had been but Undyne's green magic had already faded. They turned on their heel just in time to see Papyrus come up behind Undyne with a great big pile of snow in his arms and dump it on Undyne's head. Frisk quickly edged away.

There was a long ominous silence. Then, Undyne rose, like a leviathan from the ocean. Papyrus froze in horror as the realization of what he had just done dawned on him. Undyne's arm shot out, grabbing him by the chest piece, hefting him up with one arm and hurling him into the nearest snowbank. Snow shot into the air and drifted down in a fine mist around them. The blue on Undyne's soul faded. She brushed off her hands with satisfaction.

Papyrus slowly pulled himself out of the snow and slid down onto the path with a groan.

"Let's do this!" Undyne said to Frisk, all smiles, her eye sparkling.

Frisk nodded and took off their hat, scarf and gloves, setting them on the sentry station and running back over to Undyne. She formed a spear, darker and heavier than her normal spears and tossed it to Frisk. She hadn't bothered to bend it, Frisk wasn't going to attack her with it so there was no need. Frisk took a couple steps back and took a deep breathe. They placed their hand over their soul and summoned it out.

Papyrus wobbled to his feet.

Frisk tightened their grip on the spear concentrated on Undyne's magic and her soul. It was easy with her with one of her spears in their hands. Undyne started with just five spears, moving slow. Frisk knocked them aside easily.

Undyne grinned, "Ready?!"

They nodded.

Undyne raised both hands and a halo spears appeared around Frisk, blue and yellow.

"UNDYNE, I DON'T THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA?" Papyrus said nervously.

Frisk could feel the hum of the spears. They closed their eyes.

"UNDYNE?!" There was an edge of panic in Papyrus' voice.

"Shut it!" Undyne snapped impatiently. "And stay out of the way. This punk can handle themselves."

The first came from behind. They spun and knocked it away, twisting as one came in from the right. They tossed the spear to their left hand and flicked the next attack down, sweeping it to the front and feeling the satisfying crack of her magic hitting their spear and breaking.

"OH..."

Frisk could feel yellow spears coming, they moved strangely through their mind, existing on two sides of themselves at two points in time. They had to wait longer, move at the last moment when the time lines converged. They felt that strange headiness, their mind buzzing with adrenaline as they knocked down spear after spear.

"Good! You've gotten better since last time." Undyne's grin took on a sharper edge, "Shall we mix things up a little?"

Frisk nodded, "Ok."

"Fuhuhuhu!" She laughed, "I'm gonna start throwing more than one spear at the same time."

 _Be careful, with one eye she doesn't have any depth perception. Those spears could end up anywhere._

She summoned spears on the left and right and they shot at Frisk. They had barely stepped back out of the way when she sent another two from the front and back. Frisk ducked and dodged diagonally. Spears shattered in front of them in sprays of magic. Left and back, Frisk swung their spear around and slammed them out of the air. She alternated to right and up.

 _...Patterns, she started with patterns to ease ease you in. Be ready, it's not gonna last._

Frisk managed a grunt of acknowledgment as they jumped back, two spears ricocheting off one another; they jerked their spear up just in time to deflect. A diagonal shot. Frisk almost didn't see it in time and had to duck to avoid it. They stumbled and fell back into the snow.

Undyne raised her hand and the spears paused, she looked at Frisk, one eyebrow raised.

Frisk jammed the spear point into the ground and pulled themselves up, leaning on the spear and trying to get their breath back.

 _Stop thinking so much. You do a lot better when you just use your instincts. It's scary but don't worry about getting hurt, she's not out to kill you so her attack is low._

"Ok..." they looked at Undyne, picking the spear up again.

Undyne tilted her head and flicked her wrist, a spear materializing in her palm. Frisk raised their spear.

 _Close your eyes,_ Chara prompted, _they're just distracting you._

Frisk closed their eyes again and focused solely on Undyne's magic, sharp and bright, like stars streaking towards them. She started off slower, introducing two spears at a time on occasion. It became, almost like a dance, each step in time with a strange music they only knew a second before. A step back, bringing the spear to the right, magic shattering into a rain of light like snow, turn to the back while stepping right, sweep two spears from the air.

Chara was there too, their consciousness pressed tighter to Frisk than they ever had before. They shared. Frisk shared what they saw and felt and Chara shared how to move, sharper, tighter movements that wasted nothing. They swung the spear together, Frisk to where the spear would be, Chara with their power and force to strike it down. They got lost in the movement. They danced together.

"That's enough." Undyne said with a huff.

Frisk opened their eyes.

Undyne was sweating lightly, she stretched her neck and shoulders with a groan. "I'd go all day, punk, but I have to train all the slackers tomorrow."

The spear dissolved in Frisks hands. They unzipped their jacket and fanned it open, shivering as the cold hit their sweaty back.

Undyne grinned big and walked over to them, "Man! I haven't had to work that hard in a long time!" She grabbed Frisk in a headlock and giving them a noogie.

Frisk wiggled free with a giggle.

"You don't have any attacks?" She asked.

Frisk shook their head, "Don't want any."

"Hmmm." Undyne put her hands on her hips, "You still gotta be able to defend yourself."

Frisk frowned.

"Whatever." she threw up her hands, "Where's Papyrus?"

They both looked around, and spotted Papyrus standing right where he had crawled out of the snowbank, still as a statue.

"Pap?" Frisk asked in concern, running to his side. "Pap, are you ok?" They tugged on his scarf.

He silently knelt down and hugged them tight. His eyes seemed distant.

"Pap?" Frisk asked softly. "...Did I scare you?"

He leaned back and smiled, "OF COURSE NOT! I BELIEVE IN YOU ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!"

"Yeah?"

"OF COURSE!"

Undyne walked over to them and pulled Frisk's hat down over their eyes. They giggled and folded it up so they could see. Papyrus took the scarf from Undyne's hands and wrapped it around their neck. Frisk held their hands up, Undyne tossed Papyrus their gloves and he pulled them on, then picked Frisk up and put them on his shoulders.

Undyne elbowed Papyrus with a smirk, "What's for dinner?"

Papyrus said excitedly, "DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE RECIPES ON THE BACK OF THE NOODLE BOXES? I SAW A BOX OF LASAGNA NOODLES AT THE STORE WITH A RECIPE I'D LIKE TO TRY!"

"I wanna help!" Frisk patted the top of his skull.

"Fuhuhu! I'll help too," Undyne grinned, "This time, you can teach me!"

(a/n: Next update Saturday!

So this is like a milestone moment! The last chapter I hit 50,000 words, this chapter I hit 200 pages and today, is exactly three months since I started this story. I've never written so much in such a short amount of time and the support you guys have given me has been incredible. It's been amazing, so frickin amazing, and the ride isn't even over yet! Wowzers.)


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Frisk stepped out into the cold morning air and shivered, not that it was any colder than normal but morning cold tended to sink into your bones. They rubbed their hands together and suddenly wished they had decided to wear their scarf and thick gloves. "Where's Undyne?" They asked Papyrus as the brothers stepped out of the house to join them.

"SHE SAID SHE HAD TO GET SOMETHING FROM HER HOUSE. I'M IN CHARGE OF ASSEMBLING EVERYONE AT THE CROSSROADS BEFORE SHE GETS HERE!" His chest swelled with pride.

"that's great, bro." Sans yawned.

"AND I GET TO JOIN THE TRAINING EXERCISES! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"you're gonna be the best one there." Sans said, "you'll be in the royal guard in no time."

"OF COURSE! IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!" Papyrus flipped his scarf behind him. "NOW, I MUST BE GOING! REMEMBER, MEET AT THE CROSSROADS." he told Frisk before trotting off down the road.

"you gonna tag along with the misery expedition?" Sans asked.

Frisk nodded.

He sighed, "that much exercise can't be good for you."

" _You get a ton of exercise_ ," Chara said with a smirk, " _you're always running late._ "

"heh. good one." Sans stuffed his hands into his pockets, "i better get going."

" _Don't work too hard._ " They said.

"you know me well." he grinned, heading down the street towards his waterfall sentry station.

" _i mean it!_ " Chara called after him with a huff. _Stubborn, secretive, potato head..._ they muttered.

"Do you think we should ask him?" Frisk asked.

 _Ask him what? How he knows Alphys'? Why he has a lab? Why he knows about the time resets when everyone else has no clue?_

"But he said-"

 _Deja-vu? Sure, he has it, everyone has it, but that doesn't explain how he remembers what the deja-vu means, much less that he's able to track them. There's no way he figured it all out again after every reset._

"He..." Frisk murmured quiet, "he's a little like me, I think... he can... his shortcuts move him to different places and he can stop time..."

 _Space and time... so he remembers more than anyone because he can use time magic?_

Frisk shrugged, frustration creasing their brow, "...Maybe...I don't know..." They sighed, "I think, I'm gonna ask him about magic...I hope he doesn't get mad."

 _You're not doing anything wrong._

"...I feel like I shouldn't... 'Cause humans with magic are the reason monsters are trapped here in the first place." Frisk wrung their gloves together.

Chara sighed, _If the humans didn't have a way to seal the monsters away do you think they would've left them alive?_

Frisk shuddered.

 _Exactly._

Frisk walked over to the crossroad by the librarby, Doggo was already waiting. Frisk waved exuberantly and ran over to him. The rest of the snowdin guard showed in fits and burst, Dogeressa and Dogamy, Lesser and finally Greater, hustled along by an impatient Papyrus.

"LINE UP, CHUMPS!" Undyne shouted when she arrived.

There was a scramble for paws on snow as the dogs lined up, Papyrus stood at the end next to Frisk.

Undyne looked them over, walking over when she spotted Frisk. She took what looked like a stick off her back and tossed it to Frisk, "Here!"

Frisk caught it and turned it over in their hands. It was a polished wooden pole about a meter long, so dark it was almost black and very heavy, it was in a sheath made of scraps of canvas and rope, clumsily sewn together.

"I used that before I could form my spears entirely out of magic. It should block most attacks." She grinned, pleased with herself. "Now you'll be able to defend yourself!"

"Thank you, Undyne!" Frisk slung the sheath on their back.

 _Wow... It must be made out of a lamp tree wood, that's why the wood is so dense and can act as a magic conduit. So Cool._

Undyne walked back in front of the group. She formed a spear in her hand and pointed it at them, "ALRIGHT!" Undyne shouted, "WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH A LITTLE RUN!"

Dog ears perked up. Greater Dog wiggled with anticipation.

Undyne grinned, "You'll be running in a line. The soldier in the rear will be carrying this punk." She pointed at Frisk. "They'll run to the front of the line and then pass the punk to the back and the new back of the line will run to the front, repeat until dead or the run is finished!"

 _You've got to be kidding me! They're going to carry you?! Like a sack of potatoes?! Really!? THAT IS HILARIOUS._

"Everybody runs, no slacking, no dropping the human!" She swept the point of the spear along the line.

There was a mixture of barks and 'Yes, Captain!'

"Good." she tossed the spear away, "Papyrus, to the front!"

"YES!" Papyrus ran to the front of the line.

Undyne said, "We'll run to the ruin sentry station and then back to Lesser Dog's station. GOT IT?!"

"YES!" (WOOF!)

"Alright, lets get this show on the road!" She walked to the end of the line and hoisted Frisk onto her shoulder.

Undyne and Papyrus ran like they were in a competition. The dogs just seemed like they were out on a fun walk. It was a little bumpy but no one dropped them. It was kinda like a carnival ride, a weird jostling carnival ride. Sans waved when they ran by his sentry station, grinning as Frisk was passed hand to paw overhead to the back of the line. Frisk thought they glimpsed a notebook on Sans's lap, dark with writing, but they couldn't be sure.

They stopped when they reached Lesser Dog's sentry station. Greater dog popped out of their armor and rolled around in the snow, panting happily. Papyrus set Frisk down on the ground. Frisk held up their hand for a high-five.

Papyrus slapped Frisk hand with a, "NYEH HEH HEH!"

Lesser Dog ran over to join Greater rolling in the snow.

Undyne crossed her arms over her chest, "AHEM." She glared.

Lesser stopped, their ears drooping. Great hurried back to their armor, tail between their legs.

"We're gonna spar!" She looked at Frisk, "You wanna join in, punk?" She asked.

Frisk grabbed the end of the stick over their shoulder and pulled it free. "Yes."

"AWESOME!" She grinned hugely, "That means I CAN JOIN IN."

Someone in the group quietly whimpered.

"Pair off in two lines!" She formed a spear and pointed, everyone scrambling to comply. "Spread out a little, we don't need an accidents... Good. This line will fight, the other defend, then switch. Each pair will fight twice then we swap partners until everyone has fought everyone else." She smiled wickedly, "When you're fighting me, don't hold anything back, I want to see how strong you are. Got it?"

"YES, CAPTAIN!" (WOOF WOOF!)

"And when you're fighting this little punk," She pointed at Frisk, "You'll fight the whole time, no breaks."

"My magic won't hold out that long." Dogamy protested. (We have to take a break!) Dogeressa added.

"THAT'S WHY IT'S GOOD PRACTICE!" Undyne snapped impatiently, "If any one of you chumps actually manages to hit the human, you get extra dessert." She smiled at Frisk confidently, "If they don't get hit, they get the dessert instead. Fuhuhuhu!"

 _Oooo... maybe it's chocolate? I hope it's chocolate._

Frisk was paired off with Dogamy first, and he was a mess without Dogeressa. His attacks were slow, sloppy and weak. Frisk only used their stick to test it out, glancing Dogamy's magic blade off it with ease. Before long, he was panting and had to stop.

 _Frisk._

"Hmmm?" Frisk murmured.

 _You should try stopping time again._

Frisk's brow furrowed, "Don't know how..."

 _No harm in trying. You did it once and you're always interested when Sans uses his magic._

"Oh."

Chara grinned, _You thought i didn't notice? Whenever he plays around with magic you perk up like a bloodhound on the scent._

"...I'll try."

It was like trying to grasp mist. The more they tried and failed, the more frustrated they became. They kicked at the snow in frustration. Lesser Dog was their next opponent, they whined and cocked their head to the side. Frisk sighed and smiled weakly and initiated battle.

Lesser dog kept getting distracted by their stick. Granted the dog's attacks were limited to flailing their sword around, with irregular levels of magic that kept their turning their sword blue and jumping at them, trying to get the stick.

 _Look. Let me do the dodging and control the arm with the stick. You use the other arm and focus on your determination. Don't forget that that's the seat of your power._ Chara slipped into control and tightened their grip on the stick. They ducked a sword sweep and hopped sideways as Lesser Dog jumped forward, tail wagging exuberantly, teeth snapping closed on empty air where the stick used to be. Chara cockily reached out quickly and patted Lesser Dog as they backed away. They grinned cheekily and waved the stick around enticingly. Lesser followed the stick, seemingly hypnotized by the movement.

Frisk pressed their left hand over their soul. It was so bright that the light came through their hand a muted pink color. Determination. They used it without even thinking anymore. Saving was almost a second nature, even though they hadn't needed to use any of their save points. Perhaps, that was the problem.

They watched Chara dodging and weaving with ease, flicking the stick out to block Lesser's clumsy attacks. Lesser stopped fighting, panting heavily, and sat down on the ground with a huff. Frisk fell their determination surge, and focused on the feeling.

It started from the center of them, they could feel it in their soul, in their hand. Saving was... was taking that surge of power and using to... it was like a weight...? They marked the world, this space, this time with the power of determination... It was like a pin or a weight in the world that they could see and feel from anywhere else, tied to them... and for a moment, for just that point where they saved it almost felt like time stopped for a hairsbreadth, the answer maybe was in that moment? It had to be... That was where they would figure it out...

"How's it goin, punk?" Undyne asked, stepping up to Chara as the groups switched.

" _No of them are even close to your skill level. Easy as cake._ " Chara said with a laugh, " _You should run them through some drills to train them to ignore sticks, though. i could win every fight with a game of fetch._ "

"Ugh." Undyne groaned, pressing her hand to her forehead in frustration.

Chara asked, " _Are we going to figh-_ "

"Nah." Undyne waved her hand, "I could use a break. Maybe after lunch we can give em a demonstration of what REAL POWER looks like!" She clenched her fist, the magic lance she was holding shattered.

" _Cool..._ " Chara blinked and blushed, " _Uh, i mean yeah. That's a good idea._ "

Undyne grinned, grabbed Chara in a headlock and gave them one heck of a noogie, despite their protests. "One fight left!" She said as she let them go, "You only have Papyrus left, right?"

Chara nodded, shaking their hair straight.

"He's on top form today so stay on your toes," She formed a new spear with a grin, "If anyone can land a hit on you, it's him. Though, knowing that softy, it would do only do ONE damage." She laughed as she walked over to Greater Dog.

Frisk still had their hand over their soul, Chara could feel them thinking, distant and yet, right there. Chara could feel their determination churning. They walked over to Papyrus who was twirling a bone in his fingers.

"FINALLY, YOU SHALL FACE THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN BATTLE!" He pointed at them with his bone. "LET'S BEGIN! IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Chara flipped their stick in the air and caught the end with flick of their wrist and pointed at Papyrus with a grin, " _You think to challenge the mighty Chara? Fool!_ "

Papyrus hesitated for just a second then tapped his bone against Chara's stick like they were crossed swords and flipped his scarf out behind him, "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BE CONFOUNDED, BE ASTOUNDED! ARE YOU READY!?" Bones began to rise from the ground before him.

Chara put on the most stoic expression they could imagine and said, with an absurd level of theatrical, grim-seriousness, " _ABSOLUTLY-DAPSOLUTLY_."

The first wave of bones were blue. Chara knew they would be, blue and light as air, stand still and they pass right through you, but that was the trick wasn't it, of Papyrus' bones. As soon as even one touched their soul he would be able to use his blue magic on them. They weren't going to make it easy for him this time. So Chara dodged. Ducking and weaving, a light step to the right and a jump over a row of bones at knee height.

Papyrus sent out more, brought back the ones he had already thrown at them, surrounded them. They raised their stick and swung it through one of the blue bones. The bone dissolved like smoke. As the stick passed through the bone a vibration went up their arm that that made it tingle.

" _Shit._ " Chara muttered under their breath, at this rate their arm would go numb. They swung at another and jumped as he sent another row of bones at their feet. Their hand was tingling like mad. " _Fine. More fun this way anyway._ " They stuck the end of the stick in the snow and shook their hand. A wave of blue bones washed over them. Chara shuddered at the feeling, " _Ugh, gross..._ "

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW!" Papyrus shouted, trying to look like he wasn't panting.

Their soul flickered and turned blue and Chara stumbled as the weight came over them. It felt like someone had dropped a lead blanket over them. They felt so heavy. " _Yeah, yeah._ " Chara said dismissively, grabbing the stick " _Bring it on, Skelebro._ "

"I-I WILL! YOU'LL SEE!" He lifted his hand and with it came bones, white ones, and dense with magic.

They came in waves, first short, one bone wide then taller, wider, more bones, bones sailing overhead as they came below and leaving only a small gap to dive through. Chara jumped, going higher to be safe, using their stick to knock away any bones overhead that came too close. They were panting, so was he. Magic battles weren't usually fought this way, it was too taxing on the soul and Papyrus' attacks used _a lot_ of magic.

The others had finished already but they stood and waited, Undyne watched them with her arms crossed over her chest. It was making Papyrus nervous.

"THIS WILL BE ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!" He said, sweat beading on his skull.

Chara took a deep breath.

A row of five bones rose from the snow and moved towards Chara. They took a running start, and barely cleared them. Landing clumsily, they tried to step back, to put some distance between them and Papyrus. The next attack was already coming, three bones deep, moving up and down like a wave and they didn't have the space to run up or the timing.

They were going to get hit.

Chara snarled in frustration and, Frisk's hand clenched, and their soul blazed. Determination flooded them, hot and heady their vision almost went black. The world had stopped. There was no sound except for their own pounding heartbeat in their ears.

GO. Fisk ordered.

Chara blinked, shook off the shock, and ran, clearing the frozen bones easily. They walked up to Papyrus and looked up at him. The stillness was strange and unpleasant.

Sound came rushing back, bones on snow. Papyrus saw them and jumped, stumbling and falling back into the snow. Chara brought the stick up and tapped him on the forehead, " _Gotcha skellyman._ " But that was the only sound, everything else was quiet, everyone was staring at them in shock.

The flood of determination ebbed and Chara swayed. They felt lightheaded and their stomach churned with an aching, empty pain. Chara lowered themselves down into the snow very slowly, sliding down the stick to make sure they didn't fall.

" _You did it._ " Chara said softly with weak laugh.

Yeah.

" _Maybe, don't use so much determination next time._ "

...Sorry

Papyrus leaned forward and touched their arm, "ARE YOU OK?"

"I'm ok." Frisk said.

Undyne walked over and squatted down next to them, "You look pale, punk. I don't know what you did but it did a number on you."

Frisk nodded, "I used too much power." They looked between Papyrus and Undyne anxiously, their voice soft with worry, "...It's the first time I've done it on purpose... used magic."

Undyne and Papyrus looked at each other.

Frisk looked up at them through their hair.

"Pretty cool." Undyne grinned.

Papyrus sighed.

"DUDE." Undyne punched Papyrus in the arm.

"I WAS GOING TO WIN!" Papyrus rubbed his arm. "...SANS DOES THAT TOO." He pouted, "IT'S THE WORST! AND HE THINKS IT'S SO FUNNY!"

"Oh, yeah." Undyne said, "That's why I hired him," Her grin became strained, "so he can be lazy at multiple places." Her eye twitched. She stood up and stretched, "LUNCH BREAK!"

There was a stack of lunch boxes on the sentry counter, delivered by Ms. Lapin while they were practicing. Undyne Walked over and grabbed the last three, handing them to Frisk and Papyrus. She grabbed the delivery basket and shook it upside down until a small chocolate bar fell out. Undyne tossed it to Frisk, "You've earned it."

" _Yessss!_ " Chara pumped their fist, " _Totally worth it!_ "

(a/n: Update on Wednesday!

So I totally sprained my wrist and damn if typing in a brace isn't awkward as hell so that's why this chapter is late-ish. I wish my joints weren't such garbage, yay for losing the genetic lottery in that area.

I wish I was better at writing action, the waterfall undyne fight seems like such a fluke... oh well, practice, practice, practice. BUT getting to write Chara being both a nerd and overly dramatic is the best! If you believe the narrator Chara theory (which I totes do) there's a lot of that in there, nerdy references, puns, overly dramatic narration, geez like I need to convince myself to like Chara more than I already do. Sorry for this mess of random bs. Oh, and, happy valentines day, I guess? Have a bucketful or metaphorical hugs and kisses, darling peaches.)


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Frisk sat on the the sentry counter swung their feet idly eating the last of their sandwich with relish. The ache in their stomach had eased now that they had more energy in them.

Undyne leaned against the counter next to them, "Good, huh?"

"Uhuh." Frisk nodded.

Undyne grinned, "The store lady does good work. Waterfall ain't got nothing like it! Gerson tries but he's no cook. There's only so much sea tea and crapapples a monster can stand!"

"Crapapples?" Frisk giggled.

Her grin widened. "You feeling better now? You look better."

Frisk nodded.

"Good!" She smacked them on the back.

Lesser Dog was trying to make a snow dog sculpture and Papyrus had joined them, the resulting sculpture had a very muscular body with a dog head on top. Greater Dog was sitting in the snow beside them, patting together a snow poff.

Undyne's grin faded as she watched them. She asked quietly, "...How many humans are there? On the surface?"

"...Billions." Frisk said, equally as quiet.

Undyne blanched.

Frisk tugged on their gloves anxiously.

"...Are they as strong as you?" she asked.

"I'm... a little kid, an adult...would be really strong."

Undyne's jaw clenched and unclenched rhythmically.

" _Monsters fight with magic. Humans fight with force, with violence. They're very different._ " Chara added. "... _and humans have a lot of weapons that can hurt you from a long way away._ "

They watched the guards playing in the snow in silence.

"... _You should teach them to fight together. If a dangerous human falls, they'd have a better chance if they all fought together._ "

She crossed her arms across her chest. "It would take a lot of training..."

"At least you have Sans and Pap at the ruins gate." Frisk said.

"What?" Undyne raised an eyebrow.

" 'Cause they're really good at figuring people out."

She furrowed her brow.

"... _I think I can see what Frisk means._ " Chara said, " _They're good at figuring out a persons nature. Between the two of them they could probably figure out if a fallen human was a killer or not. Sans could teleport to gather the rest of the guard while Papyrus set his traps to slow them down and evacuate as many monsters as he could._ "

"...Maybe." Undyne said, "It a good idea. I need to do a lot of thinking. There was a lot I never... I need to speak with Asgore." She looked down at her hands and spread her fingers, "I understand what he meant now..."

"...what he meant?" Frisk asked.

"Wanna have a rematch?" She grinned hugely, manifesting a spear in her hand and stepping away from the sentry station.

Frisk slowly slid off the sentry station, biting back their frustration. "Okay."

Undyne didn't start off slow with her attacks this time or with any set patterns. Frisk managed to stop time one more, without collapsing afterwards but they also got hit a couple times. Their soul ached.

They fumbled to put their stick back in its sheath.

"Hey, punk. I want you to do me a favor." Undyne interrupted them.

"What?" Frisk asked softly, something about her tone made them anxious.

Undyne's gaze flicked from the guards to Frisk to the end of the black staff peaking over their shoulder, "I want you to hit me." She looked back across the field, "I want them to know what being attacked by a human means."

Frisk frowned.

The Guard shifted and glanced at one another nervously.

"I know you're a softy and it's not really in your nature but it's important." Her exspression was solemn. For the first time since they had become friends, she looked very much like the Guard's Captain.

Chara said. "... _Frisk won't, but I will._ "

"...I don't like this." Frisk said softly.

" _i won't do anything that makes you unhappy_." Chara said, " _if you tell me to, i'll stop._ "

Their voice was faint as a sigh, "...do it..."

Chara pulled their stick out, the tip dropping into the snow, " _i can make it so you don't have to experience any of it if that's what you want._ "

"...No..." Frisk said softly.

"Good." Undyne dropped her spear and turned to face them.

Chara bit their lip and twisted their stick in their hands. " _Please save, just in case._ " They murmured under their breath. Determination rose like a painful lump in their throat and captured the moment like a butterfly on a board. Chara nodded, they told Undyne, " _Please keep your defenses up, just, i don't want anything bad to happen._ "

"Don't look away." Undyne ordered the Guard, her voice sharp, "This, is how a human fights." She nodded to them.

Chara took a deep breath and raise the stick. They hesitated, clenched their jaw, and for a moment they let a memory of another time arise in their mind; another face, shouting, a fist raised over them in anger and they remembered, the fear and sorrow and _hatred_.

The stick cracked into Undyne, hitting across her shoulder and chest. She stumbled back with a grunt of pain.

The stick fell from Chara's shaking hands.

Their eye twitched, they pressed their palm into it. That repulsive, painful feeling welled up in them, trying to flood them, to fill every inch of them. They had to let it out, the only way they knew how. The laugh was strange in their ears, it felt like it didn't belong to them, it sounded like the laugh of a mad-man. It hurt them though they didn't know why, it was such a horrible laugh. Horrible. Horrible.

Arms enveloped them and pulled them close and Chara buried their face in Papyrus' scarf, gripping the thick red fabric so tight their knuckles turned white. He patted their back until they stopped shaking. He didn't speak until they loosened their grip.

"ARE YOU OK?"

Chara nodded very slightly.

"GOOD." Papyrus smiled and squeezed them tight.

Undyne walked over rubbing her shoulder, "You're pretty strong, punk. BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" She flexed and patted her bicep with a toothy grin. "I'm Fine! Now go play in the snow or something while I run these losers through a couple drills."

Chara nodded again.

Papyrus carefully took off his scarf and wrapped it around their neck, "HOLD ONTO THIS FOR ME."

"... _ok._ "

They watched the guards for a while as Undyne tried to get them to fight together in a team. It was a bit like herding cats.

...I wish I could give you a hug too..., Frisk said.

" _It's ok._ " Chara rubbed Papyrus' scarf between their fingers. " _Actually, it's been... really, really wonderful... At first-" Their voice cracked, they cleared it roughly, "At first, I was so confused. Our plan had failed, hadn't it? Why was I brought back?_ _But with your guidance I realized the purpose of my reincarnation._ " They smiled to themselves, " _...Atonement. This is my chance to make up for all the bad things I did... But I never thought I'd be able to be happy too. I never thought I'd be able to make friends like you, be comforted by Papyrus, train with Undyne... pun with Sans..._ " Chara reached up and touched their eye in surprise, tears wet their fingertips and they smiled in bemusement. They weren't sure if the tears were theirs or Frisks' because they both felt the same warm ache in their heart. " _It's been so wonderful._ "

The Guard practiced for another two hours. Near the end they were almost getting the hang of attacking together. Undyne looked only mildly annoyed when she dismissed them.

Frisk ran over to Papyrus and Undyne. "Here's your scarf." Frisk pulled the scarf up and held it up to Papyrus. He knelt down lowered his head and they clumsily wrapped it around his neck.

"THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF IT FOR ME!"

" _Thank you._ " Chara said.

Undyne had picked up their stick and slid it into the sheath on their back.

Frisk reached out and took Papyrus' and Undyne's hand. They walked back to the house together and every now and then they would swing Frisk up and out, filling the air with giggles.

"I THINK THE TRAINING WENT REALLY WELL!" Papyrus said as he opened the door for Undyne and Frisk.

"You mean it went AWESOME!" Undyne pumped her fist, throwing her jacket on the couch.

"Everybody was really cool!" Frisk agreed.

"SPEAKING OF COOL, YOU WERE SUPER COOL!" Papyrus gave them two thumbs up.

"My magic wasn't very good..." Frisk said softly.

"NOBODY PICKS IT UP RIGHT AWAY." Papyrus reassure them, helping them take off their jacket and gloves.

Undyne said, "Fuhuhu! It took me ages to learn how to use enough magic to make a proper spear."

"THE FIRST BONE I MADE, I PUT SO MUCH MAGIC IN IT I PASSED OUT! I STILL HAVE IT SOMEWHERE, I THINK..." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, "IT WEIGHED A TON SO EVEN THAT ANNOYING DOG COULDN'T STEAL IT!"

Undyne ruffled Frisk's hair, "Keep practicing and you'll get the hang of magic in no time."

"magic...?" Sans stood by the open door, snow still clinging to his slippers.

"SANS YOU'RE HOME!" Papyrus said excitedly, nudging Sans forward to close the door, "TRAINING TODAY WAS-"

"the kid knows magic?" Sans cut Papyrus off.

"They're learning." Undyne said, a wary edge in her voice.

"what can they do?" Sans gaze shifted down to Frisk.

"THEY MOVE FROM ONE SPOT TO ANOTHER LIKE THAT," Papyrus tried ineffectually to snap his fingers, "LIKE YOU DO!"

"huh." Sans never took his eyes off them. "seems like a lot of trouble, for them to learn that. they're just a kid, they don't need to learn magic."

Undyne bristled at this, "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! They need to be able to protect themselves!"

"they've got us now, we can protect em just fine." Sans said.

Undyne lip curled up in a snarl and she put her hands on her hips, "This is what you did with Papyrus isn't it?! YOU CAN'T BE THERE ALL THE TIME! Even if you could, they're gonna grow up eventually and THEN WHAT?! HUH, PUNK?!" She jabbed her finger at him.

Frisk shuddered as a massive wave of magic passed over them, freezing the world in silence. Everything was still. Except the two of them.

Sans sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "look," he said quietly, "you're happy now aren't you? you are happy right?"

Frisk stared at him anxiously.

"you don't need to do anything more, just be happy." he said.

"...but I wanna learn more about magic." they said softly.

Sans walked over to them, "nothin wrong with curiosity, or learning but you're playing with fire, kid."

"But," Frisk said, "I won't reset the timeline."

He raise a brow.

"I won't!" Frisk insisted

"you've already done it once."

Frisk flinched, "...that was an accident."

"yeah," Sans said, "so how many more accidents will there be?"

" _If Frisk can learn to control their power then there won't be any._ " Chara said flatly.

Sans shook his head with a sigh, "i like you kid, i really do. But I don't trust you."

"...don't trust me?" their voice wavered.

He closed one eye and smiled his easy-going smile, "the last anomaly was good in the beginning too. long periods between resets and nice deja-vus but that all changed." He shrugged, "so, yeah i like you kid, you're great, but are you going to stay that way? or are you going to get tired of this," He waved vaguely, "and just," He flicked his hand, "throw it all away. why not? it doesn't hurt you, you'll be fine, you'll always be fine."

Tears dripped from their lashes and tracked down their cheeks, "... sorry." they mumbled.

"hmph," Sans said derisively, "what'd you say about if i ever hurt them chara? 'you'd beat the shit out of me?' was that it? huh, brat? well, go ahead, i won't stop you.

" _they're crying for you._ " Chara said.

Sans pasted on grin slowly slipped and sank into a frown. He rubbed the spot between his eyes. He looked so very, very tired.

Chara wiped the tears from their cheeks with the heel of their palm. They didn't bother trying to stop the tears, they didn't want to, " _...so it comes down to trust._ " they said. " _I know that it's mostly my fault you can't trust them. It's because I awoke when they fell, and when they fell, the control over the timelines moved to Frisk. You think I was the source of the anomaly before, is that right?_ "

He closed his eyes. "that's one hypothesis."

" _I can't prove to you that it wasn't me but... I'll plead my case anyway, for all our sakes._ " They took a deep breath, " _My last memory of Azzy, Asriel, was him collapsing in the throne room with my body in his arms. The next clear memory I have is of Frisk, and... it was confusing and frighting, I had no control, no voice, no body. Frisk could hear me, but mostly on a subconscious level._ "

They wiped the last tears from their eyes, " _Six humans fell before but it was only Frisk's soul that gave me this second chance. It's because my soul was like theirs, red, driven by determination._

 _"I can't use Frisk's magic. The only reason I can use their voice, their body, is because they allow me to. They could just as easily take that away._ " They held their hands out placatingly.

"i can't take your word for it." Sans said flatly.

"... _Are we just... a variable in your equations now?_ " Chara asked. " _Are we just new pieces of the puzzle?_ "

"honestly, yeah, you are." He fastened on a new grin, his tone light and joking once more, "i mean, no matter how it turns out, this has given me a lot of time to compile more data, start running a few scenarios that might even have enough time to complete. i've gotten a lot of work done so i'd appriciate it if you could tell me if you're gonna reset so I can store my data." he gestured flippantly, "it's been nice and you make my brother happy, so thanks for that."

Frisk voice choked, their throat felt so tight it hurt, "... can't we be friends?"

"i think you would be better off not botherin." he shrugged, "you'll make plenty of other people happy kid, just focus on that."

Frisk's hands shook, "I'll be good." They clenched the bottom of their shirt, "I promise I'll be good. I promise. Please..."

He shook his head. "feel free to prove me wrong. i'd like to be wrong."

He let out a deep breath and his magic dissipated. Time began to move once more.

Undyne looked around in confusion.

"i'm gonna head to grillby's if you need me." Sans said. He walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him with a click.

Frisk slowly sank down, wrapping their arms tight around their legs and burying their face in their knees.

"What the hell just happened?!" Undyne said.

Papyrus rushed over to Frisk's side and knelt on the floor beside them, "ARE YOU HURT?"

"...no..." Frisk said, they couldn't stop shaking.

Undyne knelt on the other side of them and smoothed their hair with an unexpectedly gentle touch.

Frisk leaned into her hand.

"Sans said something to them." Undyne said coldly.

Papyrus nodded reluctantly.

She glared at the door. "little turd."

"WHAT SHOULD WE-?"

"I'm gonna take them to Alphys." She stood and gently pulled Frisk to their feet. "We'll watch anime, eat snack food and chat. In the morning everything will be better."

"I'LL-"

"YOU'LL stay here, and talk to your stupid brother." she snapped, "Now go get anything they might need."

"Y-YES!" Papyrus ran upstairs and returned moments later with Frisk backpack, stuffed full of quite possibly everything they owned and probably somethings they didn't. Frisk gave him a hug and forced smile, they told him not to worry but he still looked worried.

Undyne took the bag, slinging it over her shoulder, and picked Frisk up. Frisk wrapped their arms around her neck and let their forehead rest on her shoulder.

"We'll be back in the morning." Undyne said, "There'll be more training so don't even think about slacking off!"

"YES!" Papyrus opened the door for them and walked with them to the crossroads. Undyne walked to the ferry. Papyrus waved until they were out of sight, then headed to Grillby's.

a/n: next chapter update wednesday.

So that was... yeah... a bit of an emotional rollercoaster this chapter. It was harder to write than I thought. The more I dig into Sans character, and what is known about him in the game and the various theories that arise from that information, more difficult it is to write him. He's easily the most complex character in the game and yet his motivations are a mystery, smoke and mirrors, hints and layers of potential. There is so much that he _could be_ and very little that he _is_. ...I probably shouldn't be writing this at 4am... Oh well.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Undyne carried Frisk to ferry and jumped on. The River person made a disproving noise from inside their hood as boat rocked and swayed unsteadily.

"Hotland." Undyne said shortly, setting Frisk down.

River person pushed off from the shore, their humming sounding more annoyed than usual.

Frisk sat down in the middle of the ferry and pulled their knees to their chest again. Undyne plopped down beside them, her mouth etched into a scowl. The air slowly grew warmer and the light changed as they entered Waterfall. Frisk watched the blue crystals in the ceiling and walls as they drifted past.

"DAMNIT!" Undyne snapped, "IF HE WASN'T SO WEAK I'D-" she punched the ferry with a snarl.

The wood creaked and the ferry bounced and rocked in the water.

The River person gasped in surprise almost losing their balance. The ferry drifted to a stop and the River person turned toward Undyne, a tremendous amount of menace emanating from their black hood.

Undyne's fins drooped, "...Sorry." she said sheepishly.

The ferry started moving again, in complete silence.

Frisk took Undyne's hand patting her reddening knuckles, "...It's ok."

"It's not OK!" Undyne snapped, "That jerk drags Papyrus down and now he's taking a swing at you?!" She frowned and muttered, "...not ok."

"He's scared." Frisk said.

She snorted derisively, "What is there to be scared about that he's gotta take it out on a little kid!?"

"Me..." Frisk said softly.

She frowned and shook her head, "No way, punk!" Undyne ruffled their hair reassuringly.

"I'm scary and learning magic makes me more scary." Frisk said "He doesn't know what to do... so he's pushing away."

Undyne's hand stopped mid-muss, "A lot of monsters thought I was scary when I was a kid too." Her expression was uncharacteristically solemn, she carefully began to comb their hair with her fingers until it was smooth again, "I was always picking fights but I wasn't good at controlling my strength. I hurt a lot of people by accident. Guess it's no surprise that no one wanted to be my friend. But-!" She grinned, "I met Gerson and Asgore! They taught me, and gave me purpose and now I'm the Captain of the Guard! I have friends and people that depend on me!" She tapped her chest with her thumb, "So what if you're a little scary now? You're a total softy, you'd never hurt someone on purpose. You'll figure it out and then you can put that power to good use! That's the most important thing!"

"Yeah," Frisk smiled, "I wanna keep everyone safe. I wanna protect them! Like you do!"

"Fuhuhuhu! That's AWESOME!" Undyne smiled hugely, "I don't know anything about magic but you can come train with me anytime. I have to be careful though or you might end up stealing my job one day!"

Frisk giggled and shook their head, "No way!"

"You doubt ME, punk!?" She glared at them, leaning in so close their foreheads were almost touching.

"No, Captain!" Frisk giggled, doing a wobbly salute.

Undyne raised her chin, "That's right!"

The River person cleared their throat loudly as they came up to the Hotland landing.

Undyne's fins drooped as the heat began to weigh down on them. The boat slowed and Undyne obediently waited until it was fully stopped before jumping to her feet, picking Frisk up like a sack of potatoes and running up to the lab, smashing the door button and ducking into the sliding metal door as soon as there was a big enough gap. "ALPHYS!" Undyne hollered as they walked inside. It was still a little warm inside but not uncomfortably hot.

There was a large crash and general sounds of panic. Alphys stumbled down conveyer from the backroom in a mild panic, "Undyne?! I wasn't e-expecting you-" She froze, "Oh. I-Is that-?!"

Frisk waved.

Undyne unceremoniously dumped them on the ground.

Alphys jumped and hurried over to them, radiating concern but too much anxiety to actually do anything, "Are y-you ok?"

They sat up with a groan.

"Some stuff happened so we're gonna spend the night and hang out. It's gonna be a sleepover!" Undyne grinned.

"Sleepover?" Alphys paled.

Undyne took the conveyer up to Alphys room, disappearing from sight.

" _Think of it like a filler episode._ "

"Eh?" Alphys looked over at them.

Chara held up their hand and counted off their fingers, " _Got to have a beach episode, a festival episode, and of course some sort of overnight bonding episode._ "

"D-Do you like anime?!" She asked excitedly, her nerves disappearing.

They nodded.

"O-OH!" She bounced excitedly, "What'syoufavorite? HaveyoueverwatchedMewMew:KissyCutie? It'ssogood!It'smyfav-!"

"HEY!" Undyne came back down the conveyer, Alphys' cube bed on her shoulder and a ton of snacks in her other arm. "Grab these!" She chucked the bags of junk food in their general direction. Frisk managed to catch one. Alphys flinched and closed her eyes, holding her hands out optimistically. A bag of cookies landed on her head.

"Good catch!" Undyne grinned and gave Alphys a thumbs up.

Alphys blushed awkwardly and pulled the bag off her head.

Undyne set the bed down in front of the big screen and unfolded it. "Did you see the training session today?! It was AWESOME!"

"Uuh, y-yeah!"

Undyne looked from Alphys to Frisk, "Right, punk, this is Alphys. Alph, this punk is Frisk and a they're haunted by a ghost kid, they're both super cool." She put her hands on her hips with a grin, "Introductions are done so lets watch some anime and eat til we're sick!"

"A ghost?" Alphys asked.

Undyne started pressing buttons on the large monitor.

"D-Don't touch that!" Alphys ran over and flipped a few switches, and unflipped some others, "N-now it's set up as a second monitor for my computer. I'll, uuh, just, just..." She hurried over to her computer.

They started by watching the first three episodes of Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie and probably would've watched the whole series but Undyne insisted they watch Fight Orb: The Legendary Legend. Alphys lay on one side of the bed, Undyne sat on the other and Frisk sat in the middle. Frisk had tried to sit on the edge but both Undyne and Alphys had sputtered and blushed and insisted they sit in the middle. They all ate instant noodles and snacked on cookies and chips and at some point, when Alphys and Undyne were arguing about watching more Fight Orb or switching back to Mew Mew, Fisk drifted off to sleep.

Frisk slowly blinked awake several hours later. The lab was dark and filled with the constant pervasive hum of the various electronic equipment. Their stomach gurgled unhappily, cookies and ramen were not really a filling meal, especially after a day of fighting and using too much soul energy. Undyne was missing, or they thought she was, but when they peeked over the side they found her sleeping on the cool tile floor. She had pulled off most of her clothes but still looked uncomfortably hot.

Alphys was also gone. Frisk jumped off the bed and walked over to her desk, the large bag of dog food was gone.

 _Maybe she's feeding the, um..., in the basement..._ Chara said nervously, _maybe we interrupted her before she got a chance?_

Frisk nodded and walked over to the elevator door, it silently slid open as they approached.

 _Ergh, please tell me we aren't going down there._

Frisk stepped inside and pressed the button.

Chara groaned, _of course we are._

The door slid shut and the elevator began its decent, smoothly and with hardly a flicker to the power. Frisk let out a sigh of relief as the elevator dinged and opened its doors. Frisk had never seen the basement lab with all the lights on, it still looked like something out of a horror game, but one of the early levels. They walked over to the vending machine and dropped in a few gold, and grabbed a bag of poptato chisps. They opened it and munched on a few as they walked towards the large room with all the beds.

Alphys was on the far side of the room, sharing out meals for the strange group of amorphous beings. Everyone except for Mrs. Snowdrake, who sat on one of the beds listless, staring at her feet and whispering to herself.

Frisk approached very slowly, careful not to startle her.

She lifted her head, "...Sn...owy...?"

They smiled and offered her a chisp.

She took it and smiled briefly then her mouth drooped and slid down, viscous and heavy. She held the chisp in her feathers and stared at it blankly.

"I met Snowy." Frisk said softly.

Mrs. Snowdrake looked up at them, her eyes struggling to focus on them, "...Sn...o...wy?"

"Do you want to hear some of his jokes?" Not waiting for her reply they said. "Ice puns are _snow_ problem."

"...ha...ha..."

"Macaroni and _freeze._ "

The corners of her mouth struggled upwards into a wobbly smile.

"The best iced cereals are _frosted_."

"...ha ha...i...remem...ber..."

Frisk patted her shoulder lightly, forcing themselves not to shudder, "He's been practicing. He spends a lot of time with his friends outside of Snowdin... Snowy's doing ok, but he misses you, Mrs. Snowdrake. Please, don't lose hope."

"...thank you..." she said, her voice sounding more certain, more solid.

"Mrs. Snowdrake?" Alphys called, walking over towards the bed, "Um, you haven't eaten y-AH! F-Frisk?!"

Mrs. Snowdrake slid off the bed and slowly walked over towards the others.

Alphys looked pale as a ghost.

"It's ok." Frisk said as gently as possible.

She was shaking. "...t-this is...uuh...oh god..." she pressed her hands to her face.

They jumped off the bed and padded over to her side, "It's ok, Alphee."

Alphys put on a very strained smiled, "y-you must h-ave gotten lost, r-right? ...we'll just, we'll just go back u-upstairs." She took their arm and began leading them towards the door. "T-This is all j-just, just a bad dream-"

Chara carefully pulled their hand away.

"W-what is it?" Alphys asked.

" _...I'd like to visit the video room first._ " Chara said.

"The video room?! How do you-"

" _Just for a bit._ " They said and run up past the beds and down the hall to the video room, ignoring Alphys fading protests.

Chara stepped inside and flipped on the lights. There weren't any videos laid out yet on the table. Dust coated the floor and equipment. There was a set of footprints leading to the power controls, with a line in the middle from a tail dragging behind it, and one other set of footprints, shuffled and scuffled like someone dragging their feet, or walking in slippers.

Chara ran their finger along the spines of the videos as they quickly scanned the titles.

"What-heuh- a-are you- huegh...doing?" Alphys panted, leaning against the door frame.

" _I think you should consider cutting back on the instant noodles_." Chara teased, easing a video out and reading the faded handwritten label on the front, " _Papyrus is teaching Undyne how to cook food that's actually edible, I'm sure she'd love to cook for you._ "

"C-cook for m-me?" The scales on Alphys face took on a pinkish hue that spread down her whole body, "A h-home cooked meal?"

" _Filled with luuuuv._ " Chara said popping the case open and put it into the player.

Alphys turned bright red.

They pushed play, "... _You've never seen this one, Frisk. Leave it to Azzy to pick the worst ones._ "

The screen blinked to life and there was a flash of white as the lens cap was removed and the camera readjusted to the light. The camera wobbled and shook as the camera person ran, giggling breathlessly.

"I-I don't think you should-!" Alphys said trying to sound stern. She hurried forward and reached out to hit the eject button.

"Not yet..." Frisk said softly, their eyes transfixed by the screen.

Alphys hesitanted.

On the screen the camera person rounded the corner and there was a shaky shot of a the ruins, and a human figure standing in the middle, dressed in green, their head turned up to catch the light bit of light creeping through the hole above.

The screen went black.

Alphys snatched her hand back from the buttons apologetically, "S-sorry, but we need to go."

Frisk frowned at her, "No." they glared at Alphys.

Alphys looked completely chastised, despite the fact that she was being glared at by a child. She pulled her arms back tight to her chest, wringing her hands together and watched the screen in silent apprehension.

Frisk pushed the play button again.

"CHARA!" Asriel called out on the tape, running as fast as he could until he bumped into Chara with a breathless laugh. "Look! I got it working!"

The camera finally steadied and focused in on Chara's face, dark eyes framed by smooth light brown hair.

Chara's expression flickered from annoyance to happiness as they grinned, "What finally? Took you long enough." They teased.

Frisk reached out and touched the screen.

" _Ugh, don't cry._ "

"Shut up." Frisk muttered, sniffing, blinking through the tears. "I've only ever seen pictures of you before."

The tv crackled with laughter, "Chara!" Asriel said in exasperation. "You could've helped me!"

Chara tilted their head to one side, "If I did that, I wouldn't have been able to tease you and that wouldn't be any fun."

Asriel groaned, "Ugh. You're the worst."

He turned the camera around and held it out at arms length so both of them were in the shot. Asriel grinned. Chara held up two fingers behind his head.

"HEY!" The camera swung and blurred as Asriel swatted Chara's hand away.

"If I'm the worst, I'm going to be the best worst there ever was!" Chara said gleefully as they ducked his swat and dodged behind him.

"Aw, come on!" Asriel said in frustration.

The screen blurred as Asriel tackled Chara to the ground and tried to pin them down. The camera clattered in the dirt and slowly rolled to a stop showing only a distant wall and broken pillar. The sound of wrestling eventually devolved into giggles. The camera was picked up again and turned around, Asriel and Chara were laying on their backs, dusty and grinning.

Asriel glanced at Chara from the corner of his eye anxiously, "Will you miss this place?" He sat the camera down on his chest, it bobbed gently with his breathing, showing his chin and occasionally, his fuzzy nose.

"Probably not..." Chara said finally, "It's just a place."

There was a loud creak as Asriel tightened his grip on the camera, "...I'm kinda scared. I've only ever lived here."

There was the sound of someone shifting in the dirt and Chara's hand appeared, tweaking Asriel's nose, "It'll be fine!"

Asriel giggled and swatted their hand away.

"It'll be fine." Chara reassured him, "We'll be together, right? That's the most important thing."

A distant voice, that sounded very much like a very upset Toriel, yelled at the two kids.

"Oops." Asriel said "I was supposed to tell you we're leaving."

Chara groaned. "Azzy!"

They both stood up, the camera blurring and wobbling.

"Oh, you dropped this." Chara held up a lens cap, "You're gonna lose it."

"No, I'm not!" Asriel snatched the cap away and snapped it on, turning the screen black, "I'll just never take it off, then I can't lose it."

"Oh, a perfect plan." Chara said sarcastically.

"Hey-!"

Toriel yelled for them again. The camera clattered and squeaked and then the video ended.

Chara reached over and pressed the eject button. They put the video back in the case and snapped it closed, holding it tight to their chest for a second.

"W-who are you?" Alphys asked apprehensively, "I-I mean Undyne only s-said you were a ghost."

" _Chara._ " Chara said softly.

"O-Oh." Alphys stepped back nervously.

Chara didn't move but tightened their grip on the case, " _Do you think they could ever forgive me?_ "

Frisk stayed silent, they could tell this conversation wasn't for them.

"F-forgive you?" Alphys asked.

Chara nodded, " _I ruined everything, got my brother and best friend killed, took away everyone's hope... Do you think they could ever forgive me?_ "

"I...I" Alphys twisted her hands and pressed her feet together, curling in on herself as if she wanted to roll into a ball, "...w-wouldn't it be b-better not to tell anyone?" she said softly.

" _Easier... but not better,_ " Chara said softly, " _I did something just as bad to Frisk. I hurt them, it was an accident but, it still happened, and for a long time I kept it to myself...I think that made it worse."_ They looked down at the video in their hands, " _It was like an infected wound and the longer I lied worse it got. Telling the truth, and apologizing was like lancing a boil, it was painful and messy but then we could heal._ " They smiled, " _And Frisk forgave me. I didn't feel like I deserved it, I still don't but that's not for me to decide. And now, now I'm so glad I did because Frisk is... is, a very precious friend._ "

"O-oh..." Alphys said.

" _If you tell them what you did..._ " Alphys flinched, " _What's the worst that could happen?_ "

Alphys was trembling,"...i-if I tell them w-what I d-did," she sniffled softly, "t-they'll hate me. e-everyone will..."

" _Are your friends really that cruel?_ " Chara asked.

Alphys head shot up, "What?! No?! I j-just- I just..."

" _Just because you don't think highly yourself doesn't mean you don't have friends that think the world of you, that want to help and support you._ " Chara said, " _You can believe in them can't you?_ "

Tears blinked from Alphys eyes and ran down her scales. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her lab coat. "...I-I'll try." she said softly.

"It'll be ok." Frisk said, "You'll see."

"H-ha. I hope so..." She said. She took a few deep breaths, wiped her cheeks and took off her glasses, cleaning them slowly with shaking fingers, "I-I'm glad, you seem nice." She said, "I'm a-afraid after I watched the videos I-I thought you might not be a very nice person."

" _I...yeah, you're not the first to think that..._ " Chara tried to say it cheerfully but there was note of sadness in their voice they couldn't hide.

Alphys pointed at the video still clutched in their arms, "Do you w-want to keep that?"

" _Can I?_ " They asked in a small voice.

"W-well, it's more your video than mine." She said.

Chara smiled and hugged the video tight, "Thank you."

"I-it's pretty late so..." Alphys shifted towards the door.

Frisk yawned in response and followed her. They walked back towards the elevator in silence. Alphys stopped at elevator door, "I was thinking-!" She stopped suddenly and twisted her hands together, "I mean, uuh, i-if you wanted, I was reading up on m-magic, if you still wanted to learn a-about it, if you're not busy tomorrow, but, um, it doesn't have to be tomorrow, anytime really, i-it's fine if you don't though! Totally fine!"

"CAN WE?" Frisk said excitedly, "Chara can we stay tomorrow?!"

" _I don't care._ "

Frisk bounced excitedly on their toes, "Is it really ok, Alphee?!"

"Er, yeah!" she said anxiously, "Y-you don't think a-anyone will mind?"

"It'll be ok!" Frisk promised, "I'll call Pap in the morning, to make sure! Ok?"

She smiled crookedly. "O-Ok-!"

(a/n: Next update on wednesday again. I'm gonna stick with weekly updates for a while. Trying to do two updates a week was challenging, in a good way, but the writing ended up being rushed and my brain got a little burnt out by it.

I'm going to post the first chapter of a new story on Saturday, though. I wrote it about a month ago and plan on continuing with it once Reach Out is done. I just want to put some feelers out on it. I hope you'll give it a look, but don't feel obligated to do so, it's a _very_ different story.

For a brief idea of what it is: inspired by Mobstertale and Gangstertale, it takes place in 1920's Prohibition in the US, or its facsimile. The story is told from Sans POV, he's the family's enforcer. When other gangs start pushing on Dreemurr turf, he's the one to make an example out of em. The human he runs into ain't no lightweight neither, an older Frisk who's a no-mercy sort that ain't afraid to crack some heads. This story is gonna be filled with booze, violence, blood, and ain't for the faint hearted. If that sounds interesting to you I hope you'll check it out on Saturday.

Thank you for reading!)


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"So I'm gonna stay at Alphee's lab for a bit but I'll be back for dinner." Frisk said, into their phone.

"OK!" Papyrus said, his voice sounding strained, "I'M SURE BY THE TIME YOU COME BACK SANS WILL BE FINE AND NOT AWKWARD OR ANGRY AT ALL! THERE ARE CERTAINLY NO PROBLEMS LIKE HE WON'T TALK TO ME AT ALL AND SLEPT ON THE COUCH! EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE!"

Frisk tightened their grip on the phone, "It's ok, Pap."

"IS IT?" His voice was definitely distressed now.

" _You can't force him. Sans will come around eventually, he just needs time._ And we can wait, as long as it takes, ok? _Just keep an eye on him._ Don't let him get too sad. _Make sure he eats something other than Grillby's._ "

"I CAN DO THAT! I CAN MAKE SOMETHING NICE FOR DINNER!" Papyrus said, his voice flooded with relief, "I FOUND AN OLD HUMAN COOKBOOK ON THE BOOKSHELF SO I'LL TRY MAKING SOMETHING NEW!"

" _That's a good plan._ " Chara said.

"OF COURSE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"We'll be back for dinner."

Papyrus said, "THE BRILLIANT DR. ALPHYS IS ALSO INVITED TO DINNER."

"Ok, I'll invite her." Frisk smiled.

"NOW, I HAVE TO GO PREPARE! I HAVE TO CHOOSE A RECIPE AND GO SHOPPING BEFORE UNDYNE GETS HERE."

"K, bye, Pap." They lowered the phone and clicked the phone off.

"Got everything sorted, punk?" Undyne asked as she finished tying her hair up and grabbing her jacket off the floor.

They nodded.

"You're l-leaving already?" Alphys asked.

Undyne grinned, "I got to get to training. I still have to whip all the Snowdin nerds into shape." She waved at Frisk to come over.

Frisk trotted over and she knelt down so that she was at their height.

She tugged a battered looking envelope out of her back pocket and took a deep breath, "Could you do me a favor, Frisk?"

They nodded.

Undyne looked embarrassed and pressed the envelope into their hands, saying softly, "Just give this to Alph for me, would ya? I was going to do it but..." She flushed and suddenly looked shy, "I just, can't."

Frisk nodded again, "I'll give it to her." They smiled and took the opportunity to give Undyne a hug.

"You little sneak!" She wrapped her arms around them, then stood up and tossed them into the air.

Frisk squeaked in surprise. Undyne tossed them so high they could almost touch the lab ceiling. There were a lot of spider webs in the corners, a few spiders waved, Frisk waved back. Undyne caught them and set them back on their feet, ruffling their hair before leaving.

Frisk put the envelope in their pocket. They would give it to Alphys, when she was ready.

"...um..." Alphys sat down in her computer chair. She swiveled towards them, the chair squeaked loudly. "...uh..." her face twisted with barely contained anxiety.

Frisk jumped onto the bed. Undyne had offered to put it back but Alphys had told her not to bother. "Magic?" they prompted hopefully, sitting on the side of the bed closest to her.

Alphys squeaked her chair back towards the desk and shuffled the papers next to her computer aimlessly, "D-do you want to learn _about_ magic or h-how to use it...?"

"Both?" Frisk said hopefully.

"Uhh, well, magic is..." She fiddling with a small stack of books piled next to her desk, "L-like, Papyrus and his b-brother use bones and gravity magic, Undyne uses e-energy spears and paralysis magic..."

"What kind of magic do you use Alphee?" Frisk asked, kicking their legs back and forth.

"M-me?" Alphys twitched, "It-it's not interesting..."

"Pleeeease?" Frisk pouted.

"It's-it's not a battle magic. I, ah, m-my magic is compatible with magical electricity...,I, uhh, I should start with some of the basics..."

Frisk leaned forward excitedly.

Alphys grabbed a clipboard covered in her chicken scratch handwriting, scanning over it quickly and cleared her throat nervously, "Magic has two basic functions, creation or d-destruction. Destruction magic is offensive, i-it's best suited for battle. Whereas creation magic which, is what most monsters are naturally born with, is best suited to production, like building materials or food. ...It depends on the monster." She cleared her throat again, she was starting to sound more confident as she went on, "Of course, it's not always just one o-or the other. King Asgore's magic is mainly destruction, but his flame magic can be used for heating and cooking as well. On the other side, there's magic like Sans and Papyrus' which is, creation magic in it's purest form, but b-because they can create and control so many bones at the same time, and reuse them, they've developed it into very powerful battle magic."

Frisk asked, "So Undyne's magic is destruction magic?"

"Y-yes." Alphys nodded.

"Why are they so different?" Frisk asked, "Undyne's spears break like glass but Papyrus has tons of bones."

"Ah! That-!" Alphys held up a finger, "That all has to do with matter!" she said excitedly, "A-all magic has a magic to matter ratio, that varies depending on the monster. Undyne's magic is almost entirely pure magical energy and very little matter, so they break and dissipate very easily. Papyrus' magic has a lot of matter in it, which creates a solid, permanent object! Types of creation vary as well. If a monster is creating something that has no change in composition from their own make up they don't need outside materials and the end product tends to be more stable-"

Frisk's brown knit in confusion.

"O-Oh, um" Alphys thought for a second, "Like Papyrus, is a skeleton, so he can make bones just, by himself. C-creation outside of your own composition requires outside materials to facilitate, for example..." she frowned and turned to her desk, opened a few drawers and pulling out an assortment of spare parts, wire, plastic and metal pieces, and piled them in her hands. She slid off her seat and waved for Frisk to follow her.

They went into the backroom to her workbench. She dumped the scraps in her hands onto the counter, opening the workbench drawers and pulling out a few other miscellaneous pieces, "Your phone." She held out her hand as she pulled a pair of safety goggles over her eyes with the other.

Frisk fished their phone out of their pocket and handed it to her. She set it down next to the scraps and grabbed another pair of safety goggles, "Put these on."

Frisk pulled the elastic over their head and snapped the goggles over their eyes.

Alphys grabbed a strange tool from the back of the bench. It almost looked like a screwdriver or an icepick, the grip was made of red rubber and a long cord stretched out from the back, disappearing behind the bench somewhere. Alphys saw them staring and held up the tool for Frisk to see, "This connects to the power."

She lowered it back to the table and flicked a little switch on the handle. Her soul began to glow faintly beneath her jacket. She put one hand on the pile of scraps and with the other, pressed the tip of the tool on the edge of their phone. There was a surge of magic and the sharp smell of electricity. The phone softened like it was made of clay. The pile of scrap seemed to condense and glow white with magic. Particles, fine as dust motes, traveled through the air from the scrap pile to the phone.

Alphys' forehead beaded with sweat. The phone flattened and screen stretched, the phone case took on a different texture, a lighter color. There was a creak from inside the casing, high and strained. Alphys' brow knit and she clicked the side of the red power tool in her hand twice, increasing the amount of power. Seconds ticked by, finally, the creaking eased and stopped. She clicked the power down to its original levels again. The smell of solder and plastic joined the other smells, as the scrap pile got smaller and smaller. The phone began to settle, it's shape slowly stiffened and solidified.

The glow of Alphys' soul faded. She lifted the power tool from phone and clicked it off, tossing it back on the workbench with a sigh. She pulled the goggles off and wiped her forehead with her sleeve.

"...That was amazing!" Frisk said, clapping with excitement.

"O-oh, no, n-not really," Alphys flushed and waved the compliment away. She handed them their phone, "You should be able to text a-and use the undernet now."

It felt a lot heavier than before. There weren't many scraps left on the workbench. Frisk clicked the phone on, and looked at Alphys with the biggest grin, "That was creation magic?"

"S-sort of, I'm not very good at magic..." she said sheepishly.

"Not true!" Frisk said, "You did all this!" they held up the phone, "You don't have a lot of magic but you did this!" They gestured excitedly, "You used the pieces and the electricity and then it was like-!" they threaded their fingers together, "like-! Um, like, painting, NO! Knitting or-! Weaving! It all moved together perfectly!"

" _It required a great deal of skill and precision._ " Chara added helpfully.

"Yeah!" Frisk said.

"You could tell what I was doing?" She asked.

Frisk nodded, "Feeling magic is what I'm best at! Undyne's magic is small and sharp, like a shooting star. Papyrus' magic is big, heavy and smooth, like his bones. Your magic is thin, but strong. It was like golden thread weaving everything together."

"A-a golden thread?" She smiled sheepishly at the thought, "That's... kind of you."

Frisk clicked the phone off again and put it back in their pocket.

They went back out to Alphys desk and she picked up her clipboard again, idly flipping back and forth between pages, "Uh, do you know what your souls main driving force is? It's source o-of power?"

Frisk hands unconsciously drifted to the edge of their shirt and rolled it between their fingers anxiously, "...Determination."

The clipboard clattered onto the ground from Alphys limp fingers. She stared at them but her eyes seemed far away and filled with distant despair.

"Alphyee?" Frisk asked, stepping forward to touch her shoulder.

She blinked rapidly and scrambled to pick the clipboard up off the ground, stuttering apologies.

They pulled back, their hands grabbed the edge of their shirt and tugging on it anxiously.

"D-determination... a soul driven b-by determination..." she said softly, squeezing the clipboard tightly. She flipped a few pages over and stared at her handwriting blankly for a moment then just forged ahead, "...Can you form anything with your magic, your determination? A-any sort of physical object?"

Frisk shook their head.

"O-ok, that's ok. It would be s-strange if you could. I mean, just, what little we know about human magic from the war they o-only used soul magic, like green or blue magic. Of course, not really the same." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Those humans that can use magic are a lot more powerful than w-we could ever how to be."

"Because our souls are more powerful?" Frisk asked.

"Hn." Alphys nodded and smiled anxiously. "F-for example, San-" she stopped abruptly.

"Sans' magic?" Frisk asked, "Like how he can stop time and take shortcuts?"

"You know about his magic?" She asked.

They nodded. Frisk conveniently left out that he had only ever used his time magic when he was angry with them.

Alphys relaxed, "That makes things e-easier. Sans has put a lot of time and research into pushing his magic to the limit of what monsters are capable of. I-it's really admirable. He took his blue soul magic which, affects the gravity of an opponents soul, and learned how to manipulate it for other applications. It has to do with the general theory of relativity and how it applies to gravity, in his case, gravity soul magic can be amplified to slow time or, distort space to allow passage across shorter distances. It, um..., you probably have no idea what I-I'm talking about..."

"Sorry." Frisk said reluctantly.

"I s-suppose," she tapped her claw on her desk, "what it comes down to is, he has to calculate and cast his gravity magic perfectly each and every time in order to slow time or take shortcuts. It's very delicate work. Human souls on the other hand seem to be able to brute force some of the same effects with very little effort."

Frisk's cheeks flushed.

"It's- there's nothing wrong with that!" Alphys said quickly, "You're lucky! It's a good thing!"

Frisk wasn't so sure about that.

"I watched y-your training in Snowdin. -It's, uh, it's not as creepy as it sounds!" she waved her hands frantically, "I s-set up the camera array so that we, we'd know as soon as a human arrived, and, a-and..." she laced her fingers together and squeezed her hands tightly "...you're probably wondering why I didn't report you... um, heheh, I wasn't watching, is all, I-I was..."

"Don't lie." Frisk said patiently.

Alphys flinched.

"It's not nice."

Alphys pressed her hands to her face, "T-the truth? The t-truth... The truth is...I-I didn't want to." she said morosely, "You were h-having so much fun and making a-all sorts of friends. It was like watching an anime. I didn't want that to end."

Frisk smiled, "Thank you."

Alphys looked up at them.

"For telling the truth," Frisk said, "And for not telling anybody. It would've been hard if I had to fight everybody at once."

"Oh." Alphys relaxed and smiled hesitantly. "Um, you, during the practice you disappeared and then reappeared somewhere else, it s-seemed a lot like Sans' magic."

"...but brute forced." Frisk said.

"Hehehh," Alphys laughed awkwardly. "His abilities are based on gravity a-are yours as well?"

Frisk hesitated.

"Um, I just," she fidgeted, "I just ask because, if y-you know the souls natural inclination, it's easier to figure out how to manipulate it peripherally... err, that's not really, a good description..."

Frisk looked down at their toes and closed their eyes. They made a save point. They weren't going to make the same mistake twice. If this went bad, they would make it never happen, even if they had to go jump in the lava.

They took a deep breath, "I can save a point in space and time and if I die, I wake up back at the place I saved."

Alphys blinked. Her mouth moved silently as she repeated what Frisk said to herself. "...die?" she said weakly, her scales paling at the edges.

Frisk nodded.

" _They figured it out the hard way._ " Chara said.

Frisk rolled their eyes. "Are you ever going to get tired of doing that?"

" _No?_ " Chara scoffed.

Frisk sighed, "It's really not funny. Are you gonna try and horrify everyone?"

" _What a sad thought..._ " Chara said, " _that I'll run out eventually. You'll have to make_ more _friends so I can tell them too._ "

"uuugh..." Frisk groaned, "I wish I could punch you in the arm."

Chara took control of one arm and waggled their fingers. " _Be my guest._ "

Frisk frowned and smacked the arm as hard as they could. They both winced.

" _You're an idiot._ "

"Worth it." Frisk sniffed, rubbing their arm.

Alphys was looking at them, her mouth pressed into a tight wobbly line.

"Oh." Frisk flushed a little, "sorry."

She giggled and clapped her hands over her mouth, "S-sorry."

A grin crept on their face and before they could stop themselves, they were giggling too.

"I-it must be nice..." Alphys said quietly, "if you make a mistake you can just go back and fix it."

"No. It's not nice." Frisk said sadly, shaking their head, "Everyone forgets, the good and the bad." they touched their forehead, "Memories I have up here lose all their meaning. Memories are things shared between people. If only one person remembers, it's just a dream. It's lonely and scarey. If I can't control it, if something goes wrong I could lose everything." Again.

"...O-oh, that would be p-pretty bad..."

" _You're not wrong._ " Chara told Alphys, " _Frisk could use their magic to fix whatever they wanted but that's dangerous in its own way. Not only are you stealing away peoples memories and future but you lose all the consequences as well._ "

Alphys glanced at them questioning.

Chara licked their lips, " _Imagine you could undo everything you ever did, good or bad, nothing has any consequences. It might be innocuous at first, but what would stop you from manipulating people? From stealing? ...From killing?_ "

Alphys shook her head, "I-I w-wouldn't-!"

" _Not now, maybe not ever, but there's no way to know for sure. Do you risk trying anyway? How do you stop yourself when you've reached the point where you've dusted someone for petty revenge and then later out of boredom? After all... you can just reset and make it so it never happened._ " Chara frowned, _"What do people, monsters, become to you if nothing they do matters: animals, puppets, pieces in a game? And as they become less and less, and you become more removed from your actions, do you see yourself as a pitiless god just seeking your own pleasure?_ " Chara's frown twisted into a look of disgust. " _No. It's wrong. Using it after death, is an acceptable allowance, but even that could be a slippery slope. So Frisk limits themselves and I think that's for the best._ "

Alphys nodded, "T-that's good." She smiled, "You're really good, really kind..."

"Not really..." Frisk said shaking their head, "I'm really... just selfish. I'm just doing it for myself. I don't want to be alone anymore." They looked up at her, "Will you help me, Alphee?"

"Of c-course!" Alphys said pushing her glasses up, "I-I mean, as much as I can. Everyone's magic is different but, m-maybe, I can point you in the right direction."

Frisk nodded, "Thanks."

"Um, first, you really should be able to use your save points without dying. It may have been how you first used the power and it, it probably facilitates the use of the soul power more easily, but it shouldn't be necessary." Alphys nodded to herself, "the first step is mastering your native soul ability."

Frisk bit their lip, "...Sans will get mad."

Alphys blinked rapidly, "Mad at you? He knows a-about your soul power?"

Frisk nodded.

" _He's already mad. He can stuff it._ "

"Chara!" Frisk scolded.

" _This is important. He's not going to suddenly start trusting us because we sit quietly in a corner like a beaten dog waiting for a bone._ "

Frisk was quiet. Then they nodded. "I'll try."

"Oh..." Alphys sat up a little straighter and said hesitantly, "would it be, would you be willing to do it, um, while being monitored?" She fidgeted, "It's just, a human doing soul magic has never really been studied."

" _You realize, if it works, there will be no record of the magic?_ "

"O-of course, but there should be a surge of magic at the save point, at completion of the reset. Once you master resetting then you can begin trying other peripheral abilities which should be observable."

Frisk nodded and they all went down to the basement lab. Alphys took them to a dusty room they had never seen before. One wall to the left of the door was covered in monitors that looked old and outdated. Other machines stood along the other walls, hidden by dust clothes.

Alphys frowned as they walked into the room. Frisk followed her gaze. Footprints were all over the floor, some of the monitors had been wiped off halfheartedly, and were covered in streaks of dust.

"I haven't been in this room for years." She said.

" _Sans. I would bet on it._ " Chara said, walking around the room and peaking under the dust clothes.

She switched on the power for the monitors still frowning, "I-I don't mind him using any of this, he's helped me out a lot in the past, but going behind my back..."

The computers were slow to start up, clicking and buzzing to life. Alphys glared at them and set her hands on the control panel, her soul glowing. A few minutes later the computers were running silently and quickly. She uncovered a few of the machines and hooked them up to the computer with long twisted cables.

Frisk watched for a while then wandered over to the door where a group of the amalgamates were watching curiously and talked to them. They were all very sad. Frisk did their best to encourage them and promised them that things would get better soon.

"I'm ready." Alphys said from behind a tall thin machine, with something that reminded Frisk of satellite dish, stuck on the front. She had wheeled it to the middle of the room, "A-all of this is a bit outdated. I'll have to come back and upgrade the hardware later." she sounded frustrated. There were two tripods with a cameras, one beside the monitoring machine and another on the left with Alphys and the wall of screens.

" _What are you going to use, whatever you learn from all this, for?_ " Chara asked.

"I'm not really a magic researcher," Alphys said awkwardly, "I j-just figured I should, in case someone else wants to analyze it later. ...Sans might..." she sighed, "Just stand in front of this," she pointed to the dish and walked over to the computer panel and pushed a bunch of buttons, the dish machine gently hummed to life, the dish moved with a whirring sound and turned to point at them. "I've started monitoring." she said, adjusting the camera and manually aiming it at them, "You can try now. Please, say, 'mark', when you make the save point, for reference, ok?"

"Ok..."Frisk made a save point, "mark..." and, and... they tried to remember what it felt like... Their brow furrowed, first in thought, then in frustration. All they could remember was the pain of their soul cracking and Asgore's voice in their head telling them to stay determined. And then... then...

"..I don't know..." Frisk said upset.

"What does your magic look like?" Alphys asked.

"My magic?" Frisk blinked, "...the saves points are bright, like stars or the flame of a candle..." They closed their eyes and tried to feel their magic like they did with Undyne and the others. Frisk pressed their hand over the soul and it glowed bright and red. They felt their determination rise and made another save point, "Mark..." then stepped back from it. It was bright and strong, an anchor in the world that they made and... must be attached to somehow... There... Faint, so faint it was like a gossamer thin strand of silk, that tied their soul to the saved point in time. Frisk almost couldn't feel it. If they let their attention stray for even a second they would lose it. They focused in on the strand and pulled-

-They slowly pushed themselves up from the floor.

The wall of screens was flashing and beeping, graphs that had been flat showed multiple lines spiking.

"Are you alright?!" Alphys sounded panicked.

Frisk's head was ringing. Their soul throbbed.

Alphys' hands caught their arm and shoulder and helped them to their feet, "A-are you ok?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Frisk nodded, " 'm ok." they mumbled. "...i think it worked."

Alphys hurried over to the camera and swung it around to face them, rewinding the recording. Frisk watched on the tiny display screen and as the word 'mark' was half out of their mouth and then they were suddenly laying on the ground. Alphys rewinded the video again and played it back again, one frame at a time. Frisk's mouth moved, then they were down.

"You're in every frame, it's not teleportation." Alphys said, she went over to the monitors and studied the readings, all of the displays showed a strange language Frisk didn't recognize.

"Not gravity magic." Alphys said, "Or any other form of magic in the database."

"I think, I'd like to do it a couple more times." Frisk said, "To make sure I can."

Alphys nodded, typing something on the console, "Just let me set up the monitor to scan for different energy outputs..."

Frisk went back to the center of the room. They sat on the floor for the next test and said mark right before making the save, putting up a finger at the exact moment they made the save point. They waited a minute and then pulled themselves-

There was a moment of blackness. They blinked awake, slumped over, but still sitting. Their ears barely rang at all this time. Their soul throbbed all the same, it wasn't painful, but strange and uncomfortable. That would pass with time. Frisk would save and reset another five times. The last, they reset while standing and didn't collapse, though they still felt lightheaded for a moment.

Alphys had turned everything off and they took a break for lunch, fancy cup-noodles, the kind with the dehydrated vegetables in it and talked about anime. Chara and Alphys got in a heated debate over animation quality versus story quality. Despite the fact that they both thought both were important, they refused to agree that they agreed.

When they returned to the monitoring room after lunch Alphys said, "I have some ideas about how you could manipulate your magic..." She turned the machines back on, their gentle hum filling the air.

"In Snowdin I was able to stop time for a bit but it was really hard." Frisk said, sounding a little doubtful.

"Stop t-time?" Alphys raised her brows, "That would be difficult. It's too far away from your base. The easiest skill to perform would be along the lines of component separation." She fiddled with the camera, "Right now your soul power allows you to save a time and place and travel back to it. If you can figure out how to save just a place and travel to it, without time being tied to the point, it would mimic teleportation. That would probably be the easiest." She paused and adjusted her glasses, "O-of course, that's just a guess, it might not be possible."

Frisk frowned, "I don't... I don't think- the save points are like one thing." They crossed their arms across their chest.

Alphys shrugged, "E-everyone's magic is different."

" _Just mess around a bit._ " Chara said, " _You're not going to explode._ "

"J-just don't use too much determination o-or you could, um, collapse or-" her voice drifted down into a barely audible mutter, "permanently damage your soul."

 _Maybe don't mess around too much then._

Frisk made save points over and over again, trying to figure out how to do, anything different with them. They paced in a circle. Then sat down. Making a save point... they closed their eyes and imagined how it felt, pinning down a place and time like taking a photograph. But saving a place was less like a photograph and more, flat, like a pin in a map. Their determination rose slightly and they imagined this place as a map and marked it with their magic.

They blinked and stepped back and closed their eyes and looked at the new point, it was dimmer, weaker than a normal save point.

"...I think, I did it?" Frisk said softly, glancing up at Alphys.

She sat up and pressed the record button, running over to the other camera and starting it, then returning to the computers, checking that they were still running. "O-ok!"

Frisk nodded and took a few more steps back, then reached out and pulled themselves towards it. They blinked through a moment of darkness, and startled, as world was suddenly closer; as if they had lurched forwards but without any of the in-between parts. They had to sink to their knees as a wave of dizziness came over them.

"Are you alright?" Alphys asked, already rewinding the video and studying it intensely.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, "...just dizzy."

"No movement between frames." Alphys said. She checked the computers, "It used a lot less power than reseting, that's to be expected, undoing time uses a great deal of power."

Frisk braced their hands on the ground and giggled, "I did it..." they grinned, "I'm learning. I can control it."

 _This... is so cool. Holy beans, Frisk. This is so cool!_

"Yeah, super cool." They pushed themselves to their feet once the wooziness passed. "Ok, again."

Alphys nodded.

Frisk did it over and over again, from very close to eventually moving to the other side of the lab. They preferred doing it from far away, it didn't make them as dizzy but eventually that faded as they got used to the sudden change.

"Um, it's getting late." Alphys said tentatively.

Frisk stopped mid save and pulled out their phone, "Oh, we have to go, or we'll be late for dinner."

"W-We?!" Alphys squeaked.

"Yes, we!" Frisk tugged on her lab coat, "Pap said to come, please come!"

"I don't-" she shook her head rapidly, "I just can't-" turning off the computers and unplugging the cables running to the machines, "there's no way-" turning off the cameras.

"Undyne will be there."

Alphys froze, "Undyne will?"

"Uhuh." Frisk grinned.

"That's..." Alphy's scales picked up a pinkish hue, but she shook her head, "no, no, it's very k-kind of you but I'll just stay here."

Frisk pouted, "Please?"

She wound her fingers together anxiously.

" _You don't have to stay long. If it gets too stressful, Frisk and I will help you leave._ "

Frisk nodded, "Promise."

"O-ok." Alphys said reluctantly, "I'll go."

(a/n: Next update on wednesday!

Science! But mostly magic; like asphalt, it fills the plotholes.

From the beginning of writing this story, I wanted one of the main components to be Frisk changing and growing, become braver and more outspoken. When I started Chara wasn't a main character but then I fell in love with them and they took center stage with Frisk. Then I got to watch them grow together, not just to be more talkative but to pick up each others characteristics. Chara letting themselves be more and more of a kid, while Frisk has picked up some of Chara maturity, and even a little bit of their sharpness. It's just been super neat. I love watching characters grow and change as write them.

Also, I had to bodily restrain myself from hinting at Gaster for the last two chapters, I wanted to, really, really wanted to but he's not going to be in this story so it's best if I don't. He would just complicate things. I'll have to write a Gaster story later, that will be fun.

JM over and out, see you next week, duckies!)


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Frisk burst through the door and tossed their bag on the floor as they came in, "Pap! I'm back!"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Papyrus chided, sticking his head out from the kitchen.

Frisk ran over to him and held their arms up.

Papyrus laughed happily and knelt down, wrapping them up in a tight hug.

Alphys edged into the house and leaned on the door to close it, trying her best not to be noticed.

"I invited Alphee." Frisk said as Papyrus stood up again and turned back the stove.

"WONDERFUL!" Papyrus said, "I'M GLAD YOU COULD COME, DR. ALPHYS!"

Undyne sat up from where she had been laying on the couch reading a battered car magazine and spotted Alphys lurking near the door, "Hey, Alph! You're looking cute today."

Alphy's blushed, wrapping her tail around her feet, "O-oh. Not really." she mumbled.

Papyrus gave Frisk a stack of plates and silverware and they took them to the table, setting out a place for everyone.

Undyne jumped to her feet and went over to Frisk. She leaned over them and asked in a sheepish whisper, "Did you give her the letter yet?"

Frisk shook their head, "I will."

Undyne narrowed her eye.

"I will." Frisk said softly, "Soon, I promise."

Undyne sighed and pulled out a chair and slumped into it, "You're killing me, punk. UGH!" She groaned, "I'M SO NERVOUS!"

"You're n-nervous?" Alphys asked quietly, sliding into the chair across from her, "I didn't think y-you got nervous."

"Yeah, well..." Undyne mumbled, looking shy.

"How was training, Captain?" Frisk asked, setting a fork and napkin next to Undyne.

She grinned, "I could ask you the same thing, but, ME FIRST!" She sat forward, "I think we figured out attacking as a team! I split them into two groups and had 'em take turns attacking so any opponent wouldn't have a chance to fight!"

"I DON'T LIKE THAT PART." Papyrus sulked as he brought a bowl full of noodles and vegetables in a cream sauce on the table.

Undyne snatched the bowl from his hands and piled her plate with food, then served Frisk and Alphys, "It's an emergency measure! Hopefully, we won't need to use it but I want my guard to be prepared for everything." She passed the bowl to Papyrus as he sat down, "That's not all that happened today, right?" She prompted him.

"OH! THAT'S RIGHT!" Papyrus said excitedly, the bowl all but forgotten in his hands, "I'VE BEEN PROMOTED!"

"Really?!" Frisk said.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" he sat the bowl down so he could point at his chest with his thumb, "YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NEW, HUMAN INTERVENTION SPECIALIST! THE BEST IN THE UNDERGROUND! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

"A-are there any other-?" Alphys asked Undyne softly.

Undyne shook her head slightly and tapped her lips with one finger. She leaned back in her chair with a pleased smile.

"That's super cool!" Frisk said excitedly, " _Congratulations._ " Chara added.

Papyrus chest would've swelled with pride if he had lungs to swell, "THANK YOU BOTH. IT'S ONLY TO BE EXPECTED FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Frisk clapped enthusiastically. They didn't let themselves look at the empty place at the table, not even a glance.

"How'd your day go?" Undyne asked Alphys and Frisk, lifting her plate up to her mouth so she could scrape as much food into her mouth as possible with minimum fuss.

"It's was really good!" Frisk said between bites, "What is this called, Pap?" they pointed at their plate.

"I THINK IT WAS CALLED... PASTA PREMAVERA?" Papyrus said.

Frisk took another bite, "It's really yummy!"

"OF COURSE! I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT."

Alphys said, "F-Frisk has been learning how to use their soul magic. I've n-never really seen someone pick it up so fast. The human soul is really amazing..." She glanced up nervously.

Undyne smiled hugely and leaned forward attentively.

Alphys smiled and went on, a little more confidently, more excitedly, "I-it seems like humans can't produce any sort of physical manifestation of their magic. I mean, there's all sorts of writing on it but we've never been able to observe a human using magic, much less study one as they learn how to use magic." She hesitated, "O-of course, Frisk is only one human and that's not really enough to say anything definitively about all humans, besides I'm rusty on magic studies, and I couldn't make heads or tales of half the data we gathered but it's still all very exciting..."

"THAT'S GREAT!" Undyne's expression softened, "It's nice to see you excited about nerd stuff again."

Alphys blushed and fiddled with her food.

"I'm learning how to teleport!" Frisk told Papyrus.

"WOWIE! REALLY?" Papyrus asked.

Frisk nodded.

"Pretty cool, punk!" Undyne gave them a high five, "You'll have to show me next time we spar."

"Ok!" Frisk said.

Alphys asked as they were finishing up, "S-so Frisk is staying here right now?"

"YES! IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL HAVING THEM HERE!" Papyrus said, standing up and putting everyones plates in a pile with a gentle clink.

"You aren't heading for the barrier then?" Alphys asked.

Frisk shook their head. "Gonna stay here."

"IT'S LIKE HAVING A NEW SIBLING, A RESPONSIBLE ONE!"

"A future royal guard!" Undyne fist thudded down on the table.

"But, I mean..." Alphys voice dropped to a near whisper, "you d-don't have a family on the surface?"

Undyne froze. Papyrus became very quiet. He pulled his arms tight to his chest.

"...sorry, "Alphys squeaked apologetically.

"...no." Frisk said. They toyed with their fork, spinning it between their fingers, "I was in foster care. That's where you don't have a family so the government pays another family to take care of you until you're an adult."

"What a-about the family that was taking care of you? They must be worried." Alphys said.

Frisk shook their head, "They were getting rid of me."

"Oh!" Alphys covered her mouth with her hands.

Undyne's eye widened.

"It happened a lot." Frisk voice became distant as if they were reciting something from memory. They said flatly, "They're too quiet. They make me uncomfortable. I don't like how they look at me. They never ask for anything. Why don't they talk? I think perhaps you would be better off with another family. This place just isn't a good fit for you. I'm sure you'll be happier somewhere else..." They kept their eyes fixed on the fork as they rolled it between their fingers.

"FRISK..." Papyrus said softly

"The last house was nice, 'cause it was right by the forest, and I would play there everyday." Frisk said softly, "Then they said they were sending me away and, I wanted to go play in the forest one last time... and it started getting dark but I didn't want to go back so I went deeper into the woods. I slept in some bushes and in the morning I... I didn't want to go back..." The fork stopped spinning and they clutched it tightly in their hand, "So, I climbed the mountain, higher and higher. It got dark and started to rain so I went in a little cave. It was pitch black inside and fell. Then I was in the underground... I'm glad it all happened." They looked up, "Why are you crying?" Frisk's face twisted in distress, "Don't cry."

Papyrus' chair clattered back and before they realized, he had scooped them up in his arms and hugged them so tight their bones ached. Tears ran down his cheekbones.

Undyne's arms wrapped around them, they could feel her pressed to their back. She rested her head on their shoulder, her hair tickled their cheek, "Geez, kid." Undyne's voice was rough with emotion.

"Um." Alphys tugged on Undyne's jacket, her face already red from crying.

Undyne knelt down, picking Alphys up with one arm and lifting her into the hug, squeezing all four of them together with her long arms.

Frisk felt themselves start to tremble, "I-I...I was good," tears pooled in their eyes, "I was always good. Why did nobody ever want me? Why-?" A shuddery breath turned into a sob.

 _Because they're idiots,_ Chara said, seething with quiet rage, _They don't deserve you._

"We want you, punk." Undyne said. "We're besties remember?!"

Papyrus pressed his forehead to theirs, tears dripping down his chin. "I PROMISE, I'LL NEVER SEND YOU AWAY."

Alphys sniffled, "I-I'm really glad we met!"

It felt good. Warm. They had their family back, their home back, right here. "...tank you" their words were wobbly and broken by tears, "I wanna stay wit you forever. can I?"

"OF COURSE YOU CAN! WE'LL BE YOUR NEW FAMILY!"

"All of us?" Undyne asked.

Alphys said hesitantly, "Me too?"

"YES!" Papyrus said, "AFTER ALL, FRIENDS ARE FAMILY THAT YOU CHOOSE!"

Frisk smiled and wiped their eyes and wrapped their arms around Papyrus' neck and hugged him tight. They felt a momentary pang in their chest at the thought that they didn't have all their family back, Toriel, Asgore, Sans and Mettaton were still missing but for the first time in a long time, they felt safe.

It wasn't like before the reset, they had never gotten so close to Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys before. The first time through, they had all been friends, but Frisk had only really bonded with Toriel. They had missed out on so much.

Undyne volunteered to clean the dishes, swearing silently under her breath as she did so, who wouldn't when you need a stepladder to do them, at least until Alphys came in to help, then she was remarkably cheerful. Papyrus got their blanket and wrapped Frisk up in it, snug and warm. The two of them sat on the couch, a kiddy cartoon Alphys had brought playing on the tv. Frisk wasn't really paying attention, they felt tired and were just happy wrapped up in a warm blanket, leaning against Papyrus and listening to him talk excitedly about whatever came to mind.

Undyne plopped down on the couch next to Frisk, Alphys squeezed in next to the arm. It was a tight fit but it was nice. Frisk held out their hands. Papyrus squeezed their hand with nyeh heh heh and a grin.

A moment later Undyne sighed and took their other hand. "Not really my thing..." she muttered.

"You should take Alphee's hand so she's not left out." Frisk said.

Undyne narrowed her eyes at Frisk, but not one to back down from a challenge, she quickly took Alphys' hand. She stared intensely at the tv. So did Alphys. They absolutely did not look at one another.

 _Geez..._ Chara said with exasperation, _if they just looked at each other right now they could get the whole thing over with._

Frisk smiled.

 _I bet they'd both turn as red as a baboon butt._

Frisk pressed their face into the blanket so they wouldn't laugh.

Alphys had another animated movie for them to watch after the first was finished. Frisk let their eyelid drift half shut, drifting in a warm haziness on the edge of sleep.

"This is my favorite song!" Alphys said excitedly, leaning forward slightly.

The main characters on the screen began to dance and sing to one another. It was a love ballad. As the two on the screen sang, Undyne squeezed Alphys' hand a little tighter. She blushed and Undyne smiled and they glanced at one another from the corner of their eyes.

Undyne said, "Alphys, I-"

The front door creaked as it slowly swung open and Sans stepped inside.

Everyone went very still. They all watched him but no one said a word, stiff with apprehension, or, tightly controlled rage, in Undyne's case.

Sans closed the door behind himself slowly as if it took every ounce of his strength. His clothes were a rumpled mess. He kept his eyes locked on his slippers as he walked, but even downturned it was easy to see that his eyes were deeply shadowed. He shuffled past them without ever glancing up, hands stuffed in his pockets.

At the foot of the stairs he stopped and his head lifted slightly. He turned as if seeing them for the first time. His eyes focused on Alphys and his expression hardened.

Alphys shrank under his gaze.

His voice was flat and impassive, "So it was you. You were helping them, weren't you?"

Alphys curled her tail tight to her body. Undyne bristled, putting and arm around Alphys protectively and glaring at Sans with murder in her eye, daring him to say another word.

His gaze slipped from Alphys to Frisk and he studied them for a second, sighed and turned back to the stairs, dragging himself up them silently.

No one spoke. No one moved, until Sans' door shut behind him with a click.

Papyrus stood, "I'M GOING TO TAKE HIM SOME DINNER..." he hurried to the kitchen and returned after a few minutes with a reheated plate of the nights dinner that he took to Sans' room.

The cartoon was completely forgotten. Alphys looked wretched.

"Do you wanna go home?" Frisk asked her softly.

She looked up at them, her expression frozen in indecision, then she nodded.

"Ok." Frisk slid off the couch, "I'll walk you back to the ferry, like I promised."

"I'll come too." Undyne said, sitting up and grabbing her coat from the back of the couch.

Alphys shook her head, "T-that's ok, I-I'll just, I'm just going to go..." She pushed off the couch and hurried out the door.

Undyne hesitated then dropped her coat, clenching her hands together in frustration.

Frisk ran to catch up with Alphys.

"Y-you didn't have to..." Alphys said, her voice trailing off.

Frisk said, "I wanted to... it's kinda my fault anyway..."

Snowdin was quiet, most of the houses were dark, their occupants already asleep. The snow crunching under their feet seemed too loud.

"It's not your fault," Alphys shook her head, "I just, Sans and I were n-never really close but... it kinda b-bothered me what he said, is all..."

They passed the library and could just make out the River person waiting on their boat in the distance.

Frisk said, "But if-"

"So you're starting a collection now?" Flowey's said, his voice sounding like he could spit acid.

Frisk saved. It was as automatic a response as a flinch from a thrown fist. They turned quickly, their breathing becoming fast and shallow.

Alphys scales went pale as she saw the golden flower looking up at them. She whimpered and stepped back.

"And her, you just had to make friends with her." Flowey said, "She's the one that made me like this!"

" _We could be friends again too._ " Chara said hesitantly, " _We could save you..._ "

"Save me?" Flowey said in disgust, his teeth sharpening into fangs, "You think you can save me? It's your fault I'm like this! It's your fault this happened!"

Chara flinched as if he had slapped them.

"You get to make friends, live in a nice house, have a soul. Why am I the only one that has to suffer? Trapped in his hell," Flowey looked at his leaves in intense frustration, "...I can't feel love. I can't feel compassion or hope... I have nothing. NOTHING."

" _I'm sorry._ " Chara said, their eyes aching with tears.

"Don't pity me, I don't need your pity." Flowey said coldly.

Their throat was tight, their chest hurt. Chara opened their mouth, tried to speak, tried to say anything but no words came.

"I thought, when you came back I'd have you at least. We'd be together, just the two of us." Flowey said softly, "I thought we were alike, but that was stupid, wasn't it? I'm always so stupid, trusting you." He turned away, "I should have never trusted you. I won't make that mistake again." and disappeared back underground.

" _no..._ " Chara whispered, squeezing their eyes shut tightly, " _that's not what I meant, it wasn't pity...it wasn't-_ " They pressed their hands to their eyes.

Snow crunched as Alphys edged up next to them.

Chara hesitantly lowered one open hand.

Alphys wrapped both her hands around theirs. She was shaking too.

They walked hand in hand to the ferry.

"Can I ride back with you?" Frisk asked softly, "I wanna talk to you about..."

"Papyrus will worry." she said softly.

Frisk saved the place right by the shore, putting a little extra determination in it so it would shine bright. "I'll teleport back."

"B-but you've never-! It's too far!" Alphys said.

"It's ok." Frisk said, "I wanna try, besides, I'm not gonna die."

"O-oh..." Alphys said, "A-are you sure?"

Frisk nodded.

They got on the ferry and rode it back to Hotland in silence. Frisk sent Papyrus a text telling him that they were riding back with Alphys and would be late coming home.

As the lab door slid shut behind them silently Alphys stammered, "I'm so sorry, s-so sorry," curling her tail around her legs.

"For what?" Frisk asked.

"It's my fault he's like that! It's my fault y-your brother-" She was shaking like a leaf, hunched over as tight and small as she could make herself.

" _Don't apologize._ " Chara said mildly, then paused, " _No, that's not right._ " They took a deep breath, "... _I accept your apology, Alphys. I don't blame you._ "

"B-but if I hadn't! If I-!" Alphys protested.

Chara walked around her and sat down on their heels so they could look up into her in the eyes, " _I'd rather have him alive. I'm happy he's alive. Really. It's ok._ "

Alphys slowly began to relax and uncurl.

"Just, please don't tell Sans," Frisk said softly, "If Sans ever finds out about Flowey he'll kill him."

"Kill him-! B-but, sans wouldn't-"

"Before I fell into the underground Flowey had the most determination." Frisk said, "Before I fell, he was in control of the timeline."

Understanding dawned on her face, "Then b-before, when you were talking about killing, about treating monsters like things, you were talking about him?"

"...I think, Flowey's done bad things," Frisk said miserably standing up. They rolled their sweater between their fingers, "Sans doesn't know who was in control before but he remembers more about the resets than anyone else. He knows they happened and, and...he thinks... he thinks I'm going to become like Flowey."

Alphys brow furrowed, "B-but you wouldn't! Asr-Flowey doesn't have a soul, he lacks compassion or the ability to empathize with others and you, you are very kind. I can only imagine you using your soul power to help people, not hurt them."

Frisk smiled, "...but he doesn't know about Flowey..."

"You really think Sans would t-try and kill him?"

Frisk nodded.

"O-oh...well I won't tell him. I d-don't think I would have anyway."

"Thank you." Frisk said, "I guess, I should go back now."

"A-actually, I- I wanted to, to tell you..." Alphys looked down at her feet, "The truth is...um...I-I was planning to, uuh, with Mettaton- but you wouldn't get hurt, and I'd help you, I just- I just wanted, um, to be... to be a hero l-like you." She wrung her hands together anxiously. "...s-sorry..."

"...could you say that so it makes sense?" Frisk said.

Alphys hesitated for a moment then the words began pouring out in a mess, mixed up and stuttered and full of apologies, but in all the mess was Alphys and Mettaton's plan to lead them through Hotland and then the Core. All the puzzles and steam vents, the shows that Mettaton was planning, everything. Mettaton had told Alphys he would do it because it would boost his ratings. Alphys had done it to be a hero in Frisk's story. She spoke until the words ran out and she was left with only her anxiety as she waited for their response.

"...Have you ever met Blooky?" Frisk finally asked, "Napstablook?"

"W-who? No..."

"They're Mettaton's cousin and they miss him a lot."

"His cousin? I think h-he might have mentioned him before but what-"

Frisk said, "Mettaton's too focused on being a star for humans. He's forgotten about you and Blooky and all the monsters that watch him. He needs to remember that he's not alone, that he has people who love and root for him, a family he forgot, and a friend he took for granted."

"Taken f-for granted?" Alphys said.

"Alphee, will you help me?"

"Help you? I mean, I can t-try, what do you-?"

"Your plan with Mettaton, I wanna do it. I wanna go on his show." Frisk said. "Together maybe we can help him."

"Y-you want to do the plan?" She said.

"Maybe with the elevators turned on though." Frisk said, "WE could be heroes Alphee."

Alphys curled her tail around her feet, "I can't be a hero."

"I think you can." Frisk pulled Undyne's rumpled letter out of their pocket and handed it to Alphys, "This is from Undyne."

Alphys took it hesitantly, turning it over in her hands.

"You should read it."

She struggled with the envelope of a few seconds then went into the back and got her chainsaw. She stumbled off the conveyer, trying to read and walk at the same time. She stopped abruptly, her scales turing pink "...U-Undyne wrote this?" She was on the edge of tears, "...N-no, she, she must mean like a friend, she c-couldn't..."

"She likes you." Frisk said. "Not just as a friend. And you like her too."

Alphys turned red, "But I'm, I'm-! I've l-lied to her and I've done horrible things! I can't, I can't!"

" _Do you really trust your friends so little?_ " Chara asked gently.

"I c-can't..." Alphys sniffled.

" _Then make it right._ "

"M-make it right?" she said softly.

Chara went over to her and took her hand, " _Take the amalgams home, tell their families the truth, tell Asgore and tell Undyne. Make a clean break of it, all at once. You can do it, I believe you can._ "

Alphys curled her tail around her feet, and wiped tears from her cheeks with shaky hand, "...I'm s-scared..." she said softly. "...everyone will hate me..."

" _We won't._ " Chara squeezed her hand. " _I don't think anyone else will either._ "

Alphys gripped their hand and wiped tears with the palm of her other hand. "...will y-you come with me?" she asked hesitantly, then shook her head, "s-sorry, I shouldn't ask."

" _I'll come if you want me to. I know how it feels to be afraid, and I know how it feels to know someone will be there for you after it's all done. There's nothing wrong with reaching out and asking for help._ " Chara tried to smile comfortingly.

"R-really?"

Chara nodded, " _I want to come with you._ "

Alphys took a deep breath, they looked at Undyne's letter and then at Chara, "...Ok. I'll do it."

Chara smiled and hugged Alphys, " _I'll come back in the morning, ok?_ " They stepped back," _We'll go together._ "

"...Thank you." She hugged the letter to her chest, "I-I'll be waiting. I won't chicken out. I promise."

"We're gonna go." Frisk said, "Are you gonna be ok?"

Alphys nodded and dried her cheeks with her lab coat, "B-be careful teleporting so far."

"I'll make a save point just in case." They saved. Frisk closed their eyes and reached out for that light on the shore back in Snowdin, like a silver star. "Goodnight, Alphee."

"G-Goodnight."

Their determination rose and they pulled themselves to the save point. Snow crunched underfoot as they lurched to a halt. For a second their vision went black and their head spun, without meaning to, they sank to the ground. The cold leeched through their thin shirt and stun their hands. Their phone pinged softly from their pocket.

Alphys had texted, asking them if they made it ok.

Frisk texted back that they had. They exchanged goodnights again. Chara told Alphys to text or call them if they need to.

Once they were done, they no longer felt like they were going to pass out if they stood up, and made their way back home. Papyrus and Undyne were sitting on the couch. The tv was on but the screen only showed static. Undyne was sitting forward with her elbows on her knees, hands clenched together so tightly her knuckles where white. Papyrus was staring at the wall, tugging on the fingertips of his gloves.

"I'm home." Frisk said.

The two of them blinked back to reality and turned to Frisk as they tossed off their shoes and padded over to the couch, blowing on their hands to warm them back up.

"How's Alphys?" Undyne asked.

" _I'm going to see her in the morning._ " Chara said tiredly, their body was heavy.

"But, HOW is she?" Undyne repeated impatiently.

" _I'll know tomorrow._ "

Undyne snarled, her eyes flicking up to Sans shut door.

Chara shook their head, " _It's not him. Just, leave Sans alone. He can upset himself all by himself, he doesn't need anymore help. Alphys just has somethings she has to work out is all. Ask me again tomorrow, then I'll have a better answer for you._ " They covered their mouth as a yawn overcame them.

"Alright, FINE!" She ground her fingers through her hair in frustration, "If you say so. I'll trust you." she slowly unclenched her hands, with a muttered, "but I don't like it."

Frisk tugged on Papyrus' hand and rubbed their eyes, "Can I sleep wit you tonight, Pap?"

"SANS TOOK HIS MATTRESS BACK SO THERE WON'T BE MUCH ROOM." Papyrus said quietly, for him.

"Dat's ok." Frisk mumbled.

He nodded and carried them upstairs. Undyne threw herself back on the couch and pulled a blanket over her face. Frisk wrapped themselves in a blanket cocoon and Papyrus read them Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny until they fell asleep and drifted into their dreams.

(a/n: next update Wednesday, the 16th.

If you want an extra heaping dash of feels sauce on your feels meal, go re-read the fight with Sans at the end of chapter 21, there is something Frisk says that, well...means a lot more now...

Since 24 is my favorite number, I should like to take a moment to thank everyone who's reading this story and all the wonderful reviews. I really appriciate it all. so Thank You!

Also if you have any questions or want to chat, send me a review, I'll respond. Just know that it can take me a while sometimes, I'm rubbish at any and all forms of communication, but I try.

See you next week duckies.)


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

They were in the Ruins but somehow it was surrounded by sunlight so bright the world was white and faded. In front of them was the mound of golden flowers, yellow and green and bright against the white light. Sitting in the middle of all the flowers was a figure in a green shirt with brown hair and dark eyes.

It was Chara, Frisk knew it was Chara. They ran to them and Chara turned to them and smiled.

That smile was so, so happy, Frisk stopped in their tracks, transfixed. They felt like laughing, and like crying. They felt so happy that it hurt.

Chara stumbled forward and hugged them. They were laughing. They felt like sun warmth on Frisk's skin.

" _Is this real?_ " Chara said into their hair.

Neither of them wanted to let go.

"Chara." Frisk said, "Chara."

" _Yeah?_ "

"Chara." They pulled back and studied their face, it was like in the video but different, softer around the edges like it was out of focus and at the same time some things seemed more defined. They were a couple years older than Frisk, and taller, skinny as a rake. They seemed older than their years, though, their face had sadness woven into it.

" _Frisk._ " Chara said, taking Frisk's hands in theirs.

"Is this a dream?" Frisk asked softly.

Chara held onto them tight, " _If it is, don't wake up yet, ok?_ "

Frisk nodded and squeezed Chara's hands.

" _I wanted to say this so bad before, I-_ " Chara said hesitantly, "... _Frisk, if its ok, could be your family too? I was a terrible sibling the last time I tried, but I'll do better this time, I promise I will._ "

"But, you already are, Chara." Frisk said.

Tears dripped down Chara's cheeks but they were laughing and hugged Frisk again. " _I'm so glad I got a second chance. I'm so glad I got to be here._ "

"Me too." Frisk pressed their hands to Chara's back, they seemed as fragile as a mote, as if they might drift away if Frisk let go. They didn't want to let go, ever.

They sat in the flowers, pressed shoulder to shoulder and wove the golden flowers into chains and talked about silly little things. Whenever they looked at each other they couldn't help but smile.

"You have a nice smile." Frisk said.

Chara grinned, " _You would say that. Azzy said it was creepy. I would practice smiling in the mirror when no one was home but I don't think it helped._ "

" 'Cause it didn't need help. Azzy's a butt." Frisk said twining a chain of flowers between their fingers.

" _A butt!"_ Chara laughed.

"It's a nice smile." Frisk insisted.

Chara leaned into their shoulder, " _He'd just never seen a human smile before, I think. I don't know. He was sweet but spoiled, selfish sometimes too. Toriel and Asgore were too protective of him, he didn't have any real friends before me._ "

Frisk asked quietly, "Does it bother you, what he said about you not being a very nice person?"

"... _Well, I'd be lying if I said no,_ " Chara took a golden flower and tucked it behind Frisk's ear, " _But I wasn't nice, and neither was he, not all the time anyway... It's nice to remember only the good things about someone but that's not how they really are. It's not fair either, to expect someone to be perfect. You taught me that._ "

"You taught me not to be afraid to speak. Just knowing you were there, made me feel brave." They placed a finished ring of flowers on Chara's head, they seemed to catch the light, brighting Chara's face. When Chara's eyes caught the light just right, they had a slight reddish cast to them. They were very beautiful.

" _You taught me how to cry. I had forgotten how it felt to let myself cry._ " Chara said softly.

Frisk held out their hand, fingers spread wide. Chara smiled and laced their fingers into Frisks and squeezed.

"You taught me I wasn't alone anymore."

" _Me too._ "

Frisk suddenly felt the warm blankets around them and soft pillow on their cheek but at the same time, they were still here in the flowers. The flowers were fading as the feeling of waking up became stronger. Despite their willing it not to be, they knew they were dreaming now.

" _So it was a dream._ "

"No, not yet." Frisk mumbled, trying not to cry.

Chara smiled bravely and wiped Frisk's cheeks, " _I'll be there when you wake up._ "

"but not like this." Frisk sniffed, they pressed their forehead to Chara's. Distantly, they pressed their face deeper into the pillow.

" _You're so weird._ " Chara laughed, " _I'm not a skeleton, you know?_ "

"Shut up." They paped Chara's cheeks.

" _Never._ " Chara smiled and hugged them one last time as consciousness tugged at them to wake, " _It happened once, we'll dream together again some day._ "

Frisk's eyes opened. Their pillow was stained with tears, their eyes were tired. They sat up and rubbed their face. "Were you really there?" they asked sleepily.

 _Yeah. I was there._ They were smiling, Frisk could feel it, and their own mouth curved up in response.

Papyrus was already gone, Frisk wasn't surprised, he didn't tend to sleep long, if at all.

They changed out of their pajamas, and pulled on the big, ratty grey sweater, letting it slip down so it covered their fingers. The house was still quiet. Undyne was sprawled across the couch, her blanket on the floor, her legs hanging over the end. There was an open book on the end of the table, graph paper scattered around it. Frisk tiptoed to the table and picked up a piece of paper, it was covered in little puzzle grids written in blue and red ink, pencil lines covering the surface, testing the puzzles to see if they would work.

Papyrus was in the kitchen, idly flipping through his cookbook.

Frisk tugged on his scarf.

"GOOD MORNING." He knelt down to be face to face with them and brushed their cheek with his thumb, "WERE YOU CRYING?" he asked in concern.

Frisk's face split into a huge grin, they grabbed his hand, "Chara and I shared a dream and they were really there! I could hug them and we made flower crowns and talked and it was the best dream ever!"

"WOWIE!" Papyrus patted their head, "I WISH I COULD'VE BEEN THERE TOO! I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO SETTLE FOR HUGGING YOU BOTH RIGHT HERE!" He picked them up and spun them around, pulling them into a hug.

Frisk giggled and buried their face into his scarf.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR BREAKFAST?" he asked as he sat them down.

" _Cereal._ " Chara said.

Papyrus ventured, "I COULD MAKE PANCAKES?"

" _No time. We have to meet with Alphys._ " They smiled belatedly at his puppy-dog face, " _Could you make pancakes tomorrow?_ "

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus said happily.

"COFFEEEE." Undyne groaned from the living room.

"RIGHT AWAY!" Papyrus hurried to the coffee maker, digging around the cupboards for the coffee.

Frisk grabbed the cereal box from the lower cabinet. The box was blindingly pink. MTT brand Star Squares was emblazoned on the front in shiny gold lettering. The cereal was shaped like little box Mettatons and stars, they were, of course, sparkly. Papyrus gave them a bowl and spoon and brought them the milk when they sat down at the table. The cereal was pretty good, not too sweet, the milk tasted like soy though it had probably been made mostly out of magic and maybe water? Frisk read the container but there was no ingredient list. The back of the cereal box had a puzzle on it that looked like one of Alphys random color square puzzles, Chara traced their way through the puzzle with their finger while they ate. The cereal gradually turned the milk pink and glittery, the cereal was not pink. Frisk fished out a handful of cereal from the box and studied it suspiciously.

 _It's magic. It's always magic._

Frisk narrowed their eyes, "but I wanna know how it works."

 _C,_ Chara said with exaggerated melodrama.

Frisk giggled and then quickly shook their head, "You know what I mean!"

 _Yeah, that you're a nerd. Come on nerd, we have an appointment to keep._

Chara tossed the handful of cereal in their mouth and closed up the box.

"Leave it." Undyne flumphed into the chair across from them and wrapped their arms around the whole lot and dragged it to their side of the table. Papyrus snatched the dirty bowl away just as Undyne was about to refill it with cereal. She glared up at Papyrus silently. He put a cup of coffee in front of her and went back into the kitchen, returning with a fresh bowl and spoon. She sucked on the coffee peevishly and dumped some cereal and milk into the bowl.

Her expression soured at the first bite, "...GGEHH... TOO SWEET!" she choked the bite down with a pained expression, her throat wobbling from the effort.

Chara snickered.

Undyne turned her glare on them.

Chara's mouth snapped shut and they stepped back. Frisk giggled.

Papyrus set another clean bowl in front of Undyne with a sigh along with a box of some sort of bran, grandad cereal that probably tasted of grit and character. She seemed to find these more to her liking and ate it mechanically and without comment, occasionally nursing the cup of coffee.

"I'LL WALK YOU TO THE FERRY." Papyrus said, walking past them and opening the door.

Frisk briefly debated getting their coat but the sweater would likely be warm enough as long as they didn't do anything silly. They grabbed their stick and slung it over their shoulder in case they ran into any monsters who wanted to spar.

Papyrus closed the door behind them.

Frisk blew out a cloud of cold air and pulled their hands all the way into their sleeves.

Papyrus clapped his hands together then bounced on the toes of his boots like he was psyching himself up. He looked worried though he tried to hide it.

Frisk watched him and asked quietly, "How's Sans?"

Papyrus stopped mid bounce. He looked at them indecisively then sighed and lowered one open hand. Frisk took his open hand and they walked together down the street.

"...HE... SANS DOES THIS THING WHERE HE..." Papyrus circled one finger with his other hand, making a corkscrew with his finger, starting big and going down to a point. "HE GETS WORSE AND WORSE UNTIL HE CRASHES AND THEN..." His brow creased, "IT CAN TAKE WEEKS FOR HIM TO START FEELING BETTER. ...HE WON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT IT. HE ALWAYS PRETENDS TO BE FINE, WELL USUALLY HE DOES..."

Frisk's face crumpled.

 _It's not your fault Frisk. Sans is just..._

"I think I should try and talk with him again." Frisk said.

 _Frisk..._

"IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT." Papyrus assured them, "HE'LL GET BETTER, HE ALWAYS DOES..." His voice dropped so probably only Frisk could hear it, "I THOUGHT HE WAS GETTING BETTER."

"You sound like Chara." Frisk said.

They passed the librarby and walked past the Ice station, the ice cubes splashing into the river with comforting regularity.

"I just want him to know that I won't do anything bad." Frisk said softly, "I'll tell him as may times as it takes, till he believes me. I'm determined." They squeezed Papyrus' hand tight.

"DO YOU HAVE YOUR CELLPHONE?" Papyrus asked before they got on the ferry.

Frisk patted their pocket, "Yep!"

"GOOD!" he said, "CALL ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, PUZZLE ASSISTANCE, A DRAMATIC RESCUE, OR YOU ARE JUST REALLY BORED. NO MATTER WHAT, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL COME TO YOUR AID!" He struck a heroic pose and like clockwork, a breeze came up from somewhere to blow his scarf out behind him dramatically.

Frisk assured him that they would and got on the ferry. Along the way the ferry stopped at several places Frisk had never seen and picked up commuters heading to New Home for work.

One of the business people who boarded was a SeaHorse like Aaron but thin and scrappy, wearing a suit top and old fashioned glasses perched atop a long nose. Frisk almost laughed out loud, and just had to talk with them. He turned out to be Nelson, Aaron's big brother, who was entirely disappointed in Aaron's obsession with muscles. Nelson was almost certain his brother should visit a doctor for his strange, compulsive facial tick. Frisk would've asked more but they reached their stop at the base of the elevators and Frisk headed into Alphys lab.

The lab was dark, and strangely silent. Every step they took on the metal floor rang like a bell. A prickle of anxiety crept up their back.

"Alphee?" Frisk called quietly, their own voice echoing faintly back to them.

They rode the conveyer belt to eh back but there was no sign of Alphys. Frisk went to the elevator and took it down to the true lab. The lights were on, plinking gently overhead, but otherwise it was very quiet. They walked back to the rest area, their shoes echoing loudly on the tile floors. Inside, all the amalgamates were sitting around Alphys. She was sitting on one of the beds, her tale curled around her feet, anxiously twisting her hands together.

"Alphee?" Frisk said.

All heads turned towards them, a distinctly unpleasant sensation.

Alphys barely glanced up. She was wearing an old orange dress, faded white in places and covered in little pills. It looked soft though, loose and comfortable.

Frisk sat on the bed next to her.

"I'm just... getting up my n-nerve..." she said quietly.

Frisk nodded and waited quietly, gently stroking Endogeny's head and trying not to the dog's strange goo on themselves.

"They'll be happier, right?" Alphys said quietly, "They'll be with their families..."

"Sn...ow...y..." Mrs. Snowdrake said softly.

Alphys took a deep breath and slid off the bed, "...Ok, let's do this..." She did her best to put on a brave smile, "I'll take you guys home now."

They rode up the elevator, with Endogeny and waited there, as Alphys sent them up. As soon as they stepped out of the lab, Reaper bird bowed gravely to Alphys and walked off on their own, heading towards the core. Alphys only managed a feeble 'wait!' but Reaper bird didn't react and left on their own.

"Do you want me to go after them?" Frisk asked.

Alphys shook her head, "It's ok. T-they can do as they like."

They all crowded onto the ferry. They dropped Lemon Bread off first. Shyren was excited to see them and the two of them hummed and warbled a sweet little song together. Aaron also showed up and a few Moldbyggs, though they simply gurgled and then left without comment.

Alphys shook like a leaf, apologizing and explaining but neither Shyren nor Lemon Bread had a bad word to say about her. They were simply happy to be together.

Alphys and Frisk went back to the ferry and rode up to Snowdin. Alphys was still nervous but seemed thoughtful. The guard dogs were having lunch at Grillby's and were all very excited to see Endogeny. They were already arranging a schedule for Endogeny to stay over at all their houses.

Snowdrake was harder to find, deep in the woods but eventually, after asking the other teens they met, they found him with Cooldrake. As soon as he set eyes on her, Snowdrake ran to Mrs. Snowdrake, wrapping his wings around her. Frisk had never realized how young Snowy was until they saw him hugging his mom, trying not to cry and crying anyway. Snowy reluctantly called his dad and soon they were all together, apologizing to one another and crying and laughing.

Chara stood with Alphys as she explained and apologized but they all forgave her without hesitation.

"B-but why-? I-I..." Alphys muttered miserably.

Mr. Snowdrake was the only one who seemed to hear her and stepped away from his family to Alphys. He patted her arm with his wing, "My dear wife had fallen down, she was done for. I wish I couldah seen her sooner, of course, but she's here now and she's alive. We appriciate what you've done for her, doctah." He walked back to his family now back together, though a great bigger than it had been before.

Chara offered Alphys their hand as they walked back to Snowdin. She took it and leaned against them with a sigh.

" _How are you feeling?_ " Chara asked.

"F-fine." she said, "The worst is that they don't blame me. They sh-should."

Chara sighed, " _I know how you feel but forgiveness isn't something you get to deicide if you deserve. You simply have to decide what you're going to do from here on._ "

They walked in silence.

Alphys lead them back to the ferry, "I'm going to tell Asgore." She said trying to sound firm. "He should know e-everything."

They went with her back to Hotland.

"Do you think I sh-should resign?" she asked as they stepped onto the shore in Hotland, "I should..."

" _I don't know..._ " Chara hesitated. " _You're a very good inventor. You've done a lot of good for the Underground._ "

"HA! Me?! HAHA HA!" Alphys shook her head.

" _Who set up the Undernet?_ " Chara asked.

"I-I just improved it, really..."

Chara sighed, " _Who made Mettaton's body?_ "

Alphys opened her mouth to protest.

Chara barreled ahead, annoyed, " _Who first introduced texting to phones? Who set up the camera array across Snowdin to watch for humans? Who made the randomized light puzzle?Who prototyped most of the MTT electronics? Who configured the core's magical electricity so that it could be transmitted wirelessly and used by the whole underground, and not just New Home?_ "

Alphys was red from nose to tail. "me?" she squeaked.

They crossed their arms over their chest. " _See? If you want to resign something, resign from doing things you suck at. If you want to make up for what you did wrong then work to make the Underground a better place, the way only you can!_ "

She turned her head to the cavern roof crisscrossed with walkways, metal piping and steam vents. Then she looked down at her feet.

" _...I can't come with you to see Asgore, he'd kill Frisk for one._ " They smirked but it quickly faded, _"and...I'm not ready yet._ "

Alphys nodded, "I u-understand... I'll just go and then I'll be back."

"We'll wait in the lab!"

They went inside, the door closing smoothly behind them.

" _Alright._ " Chara rubbed their hands together, " _Let's snoop._ "

"I don't think we should-" Frisk protested.

" _Shh._ " Chara said, " _We're on a mission._ "

Alphys came back in the lab an hour later. Her expression was a little bewildered.

Frisk walked over to her, one arm behind their back.

"He hugged me." She said in disbelief, "I told him everything I did and he cried and hugged me."

Chara snorted, " _What a dork._ " they said affectionately.

Alphys looked at her hands and let out a sigh, "I asked him if I could not be the royal scientist anymore. That I-I wanted to invent things to help people and repair things instead... do you know what he said?" She looked up at them.

" _What?_ " Chara asked grinned in apprehension.

"He said I would be the royal inventor instead and that he was very proud of me!"

Chara laughed.

A crooked smile crept onto Alphys face and she laughed, "H-He's an odd king, huh?"

Chara nodded, a more sinister smile creeping onto their face, "Now, one last thing..." They pulled the polka dot dress from behind their back.

"EEP, I don't, I don't-!" She stumbled backwards, "I can't, I can't! I'm not ready!"

" _Aw, come on, Alphy! You know she likes you. You just have to tell her how you feel._ "

"I-I..."

Chara inched closer, " _What if we try some roleplaying first?_ "

Alphys glanced up, "Roleplaying? I-I mean, I g-guess..."

After a few roleplaying sessions later they arrived at Snowdin.

"W-what should I do?" Alphys asked, not looking particularly more brave.

" _You should go to some place romantic, like Waterfall!_ " Chara said excitedly.

"R-romantic?" Alphys blushed, tugging at her dress.

Chara nodded, " _You go wait in front of the first waterfall to Waterfall, and I will get Undyne, ok?_ "

Alphys gripped her dress tightly in her hands and set her brow in determination, "O-OK! I'M GOING TO DO IT!"

" _Yeah!_ " Chara held up a hand and Alphys gave them an awkward high five. " _I'll be right back!_ "

Chara ran to the house as fast as they could. Undyne turned in shock as the door slammed open.

Papyrus leaned his head out of the kitchen, "DON'T SLAM THE DOOR! GOOD GRIEF!"

" _Sorry!_ " Chara grabbed Undyne's coat and pushed it into her arms, pulling her to her feet, " _Come ON! Before Alphys loses her nerve!_ "

"Alphys?!" Undyne unfroze.

Chara grinned, " _We gave her the letter._ "

"WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR!?" Undyne threw her coat on and dragged them out the door.

" _That way._ " Chara pointed dow the road towards Waterfall.

Undyne hooked her arm around Chara's waist, picking them up and running down the path, through the mist.

" _The first waterfall._ " Chara managed to say through their helpless laughter.

Undyne dropped then in a clump of tall grass before they even reached her, with a brief "Thanks, punk!"

Chara crawled out of the grass and crept along the path towards where they were meeting.

Frisk said, Maybe we shouldn't snoop?

Chara snorted, " _No way are we missing the good stuff."_ They said under their breath.

The waterfall meeting place was a bit of a mistake, the rushing water made it very difficult to hear anything without getting really close. Not that that stopped Chara.

Alphys was in front of the water, her hands linked behind her back shyly, her scales pink. Undyne had her cute shy face on.

They finally, managed to edge along the wall close enough to hear.

"-s-sorry, I lied to y-you, you're just so cool and strong and-" Alphys hesitated, her scales turned even redder, "...I ...I," She clutched the front of her dress tightly, "I REALLY LIKE YOU!" she burst out, then seemed shocked and covered her mouth.

Undyne's face split into a huge grin. Chara and Frisk couldn't remember he ever looking so happy before, this was a much better confession than the last one.

"I don't care about any of that junk!" she snapped, "I like you because you're passionate and intense and always put you all into everything!" She picked Alphy's up in bear hug that made her squeak in surprise.

Frisk held their breath.

 _Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!_

Almost as if she could hear Chara, Undyne's gaze scanned towards where they were. There was no where to hide.

Undyne spotted them and glared bloody murder in their direction, "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A SHOW TO YOU! HUH, BRATS?!"

 _Run!_ Chara shouted through their laughter.

Frisk turned heel and ran back down the path as fast as they could, giggling breathlessly.

(a/n: I have an order of fluff here, hot off the presses, er, stove, grill? Update on wednesday as per usual.

And thanks for reading this chapter, this story; writing is really lonely and it's nice to share and know people care. Maybe I've just been feeling too melancholy this week.)


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"My house smells mostly normal now so I'm gonna move back," Undyne said around a mouthful of spaghetti, "Plus, Alphys got me a bunch of air fresheners." she grinned at Alphys who blushed.

Papyrus looked between the two of them in confusion and shook his head.

" _A bouquet of non-lemony freshness?_ " Chara said, twirling the spaghetti on their fork and taking a big bite. Papyrus really had spaghetti down now.

"Thanks for letting me crash here." Undyne told Papyrus.

"OF COURSE, I WOULD NOT LEAVE A FRIEND OUT IN THE COLD! OR ERR, THE DAMP...SMELLING OF LEMONS." Papyrus said.

Alphys fiddled with her fork, "I, uhh, think I'll need a day to set everything up with, um, you know." she said to Frisk. "so the day after tomorrow? If that's ok?"

"Yeah!" Frisk nodded, "I gotta get some stuff too so that's a good day."

Alphys said, "And I'll c-call you tomorrow night and tell you everything and-"

"WHOA! Wait a minute!" Undyne said, "What are you two doing?"

"YEAH, DON'T LEAVE ME OUT!" Papyrus said.

Alphys looked at Frisk in silent panic.

Frisk hesitated and made a save point, just in case, "Alphee is helping me... save... Mettaton."

Papyrus sprung from his chair, "THE MARVELOUS METTATON?! IS HE IN DISTRESS? DAMSELED? IN NEED OF A DARING RESCUE? I, NUMBER ONE-FAN PAPYRUS, SHALL SAVE HIM!"

Frisk giggled, "Not like that, Pap!"

He slowly deflated back into his chair, "SO HE DOESN'T NEED SAVING?"

"It's kinda complicated..." Frisk said and told them about Napstablook and Shyren and all the other things Mettaton was neglecting in his human obsession.

"...I see," Undyne said thoughtfully, "not really, but I'm better at fighting not so much the touchy-feely stuff."

Frisk drifted into thought, while Chara ate the rest of the spaghetti, annoyingly picking out all the big chunks of vegetables and pushing them to the side for Frisk to deal with later. Papyrus picked at his spaghetti despondently.

"Um..." Frisk ventured hesitantly, "maybe you could help me?"

"ME?!" Papyrus asked excitedly.

"No ME!" Undyne sat forward, hitting the table with her fist, making all the dishes jump.

"BOTH of you!" Frisk giggled, "I need to practice using teleports in fights-"

"Heck yeah!" Undyne thumped the table again.

"-and I need to learn how to bake a cake." they looked at Papyrus hopefully.

"BAKE?" Papyrus said despairingly.

Chara sighed, " _Dude, what do you have against baking?_ "

"DUDE...?" Papyrus blinked then furrowed his bow, "WHENEVER I TRIED BEFORE, IT ALWAYS RESULTED IN BLACK LUMPS AND FIRE, NEITHER TASTED VERY GOOD."

Chara snorted, " _Well... I mean, that explains it._ "

Everyone glanced at Undyne whose hands shot up defensively, "Don't look at me! I use my oven to store pots."

"But you know a lot more about cooking now Pap," Frisk said hopefully, "maybe we can figure it out?"

" _I know a little about baking._ " Chara said reluctantly.

Alphys grimaced and raised a finger, "A-are you su-?"

" _That was ONE time!_ " Chara snapped, "... _I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice._ "

Papyrus and Undyne stared at them.

Undyne nudged Chara with her elbow, "This sounds good. Spill it."

Chara crossed their arms and slumped back in the chair resentfully, muttering " _Once, the FIRST time I tried baking, I accidentally used buttercups instead of cups of butter._ "

Undyne snorted with laughter, "Seriously?! Fuhuhuhuhuhu!"

"AN HONEST MISTAKE, THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR." Papyrus said encouragingly.

Chara bit back on their automatic bitter reply and sighed, "... _Thanks, Papyrus. But I really have baked, successfully since then..._ "

"NO PROBLEM!" he grinned, "WE CAN TRY TOMORROW, IT'LL BE A NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO CONQUER, I SHALL BECOME MASTER BAKER PAPYRUS!"

Undyne finally quit laughing, "This seems pretty important to you, punk. So Papyrus can have tomorrow off, to help you out."

"WOWIE! THANKS A BUNCH UNDYNE!" Papyrus said.

She added, "Since Pap won't be there it'll be a good chance to train the pups on resisting sticks in a battle situation. Drop by whenever and I'll spar with you."

"Thanks, Undyne! You're the best bestie!" Frisk said.

"BEST BESTIE? WHAT ABOUT ME?" Papyrus said morosely, with sad puppy-dog eyes, "AREN'T I YOUR BESTIE?"

"No way!" Undyne laughed, "I'm their bestie, you heard 'em!"

"But Pap," Frisk said "you're my big Bro!"

Papyrus sniffed, "BIG BRO?"

" _It's like a whole 'nother category._ " Chara said, raising their hands like a balanced scale. _"It's just as good as bestie, just_ ," they bounced one hand, " _over here_."

Papyrus chest swelled, "OF COURSE! A BIG BROTHER! NYEH HEH HEH! I SHALL SHOW YOU WHAT A REAL BIG BROTHER IS LIKE AND NOT A LAZY ONE, THAT WON'T CLEAN UP HIS SOCKS!"

Dinner was finished and table cleared. Undyne and Alphys left together holding hands and studiously not looking at each other. Frisk slept on the couch that night. No one heard from Sans.

When Frisk woke that morning, Papyrus was already up, sitting at the table with the cookbook opened.

"GOODMORNING, FRISK, CHARA," Papyrus said as they walked over, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, "I FOUND A GOOD RECIPE, I THINK." He pushed the book to the edge of the table so they could read it.

It was 'simple white cake'. It only had seven ingredients. One cup white sugar, a half a cup of butter, two eggs, one and half cups of flour, one and three quarters teaspoons of baking powder, half a cup of milk, two teaspoons of vanilla. Chara scanned the instructions, " _It doesn't look too hard._ "

Papyrus let out a sigh of relief, "YOU THINK?"

Chara nodded.

"I WENT THROUGH THE KITCHEN AND WE HAVE FLOUR, SUGAR AND BAKING POWDER. WE'LL HAVE TO GO SHOPPING FOR THE REST."

"Shopping!" Frisk bounced excitedly, "We'll get to see Ms. Lapin again!"

Papyrus patted them on the head, "BREAKFAST FIRST."

They had blueberry pancakes for breakfast then bundled up for the walk to the Snowdin store. Papyrus brought the cookbook along just to be safe.

Frisk ran to the store counter, "Hello, Ms. Lapin!"

Ms. Lapin turned as she heard them and smiled, "Hello, Frisk. What sort of adventure are we on today?"

Papyrus pulled the door closed with a soft chime.

"Baking a cake!" Frisk said, bouncing on their toes, "We've never done it before!"

Ms. Lapin looked from Frisk to Papyrus, who was looking anxious. "Hmmm..." she smiled, "Well, do you have a recipe?"

Papyrus nodded and held out the book.

"Which one?" Ms. Lapin asked.

Frisk moved over so Papyrus could step up to the counter and place it open to the cake recipe.

Ms. Lapin ran her finger down the page, "This is a good recipe for a beginner. What do you need?"

Chara stood on tiptoe to look over the recipe, " _Eggs, milk, butter and human soul substitute._ "

"You mean vanilla." she said, with one eyebrow raised. "They're the same thing anyway. That Mettaton is full of hot air, it even says on the bottom of the package." She turned and grabbed a small box from the shelves and held it out for them to read. The top of the box of emblazoned with MTT Brand Artificial Human Soul Flavour*. She tapped near the bottom corner of the box where there was a line of writing so small it was almost unreadable, it said *artificial vanilla flavor.

"Do you have a pan?" she asked.

Papyrus' brow knit with the inner turmoil of having no clue to his current bakeware situation.

"Eggs, butter, milk, vanilla flavor and cake pan." Ms. Lapin said, "Now, I'm going to walk you through the recipe, are you ready?"

Papyrus nodded fervently.

"Yes!" Frisk said.

"Alright," Ms. Lapin said, "First it wants you to cream together the sugar and butter, that means you to mix the two together really well, until it's smooth and creamy. Then you beat in eggs, one at a time." She smiled, "You don't actually beat it."

Papyrus visibly relaxed.

She almost laughed, covering her mouth with her hand, "You just crack the egg into the batter and stir it in very well, one egg at a time. The rest is pretty straight forward, mix in the vanilla, then the baking powder and then the flour. The recipe says to mix the four and baking powder together but you can skip that if you make sure to mix the baking powder in really well. The last thing is to stir in the milk, mix that in slowly or you'll end up splashing it everywhere. Make sure the batter is smooth and their aren't any lumps, then pour it into the greased pan. Bake it for thirty minutes, then take a toothpick and stick it in the middle. If it comes out with batter on it, bake it for another five minutes, until the toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs on it, ok?"

She grabbed a notepad and a pen and wrote something down and handed it to Papyrus, "If you have any problems, you can call me here." She smiled comfortingly, "Baking is easy once you get the hang of it, you two will do fine."

Papyrus clutched the paper like it was his ticket to salvation, "THANK YOU!"

She started ringing up all the different items when Papyrus asked nervously, "CAN YOU ORDER FURNITURE FROM THE CAPITAL? I THOUGHT I HEARD THAT MAYBE YOU COULD."

She paused, "Sure thing, sweetheart, it can take a couple weeks depending on what it is and how long you're willing to wait. What were you thinking about buying?"

"A BED," he looked down at Frisk, "A KIDS SORT OF BED, BUT SOMETHING THEY COULD GROW INTO."

Frisk felt their chest getting tight. They grabbed Pap's hand, "You mean it?"

He nodded, "OF COURSE! YOU CAN'T SLEEP ON THE COUCH FOREVER."

Ms. Lapin propped her chin on her hand, "Doesn't your house only have two bedrooms?"

"ERR... I WAS THINKING MAYBE ADDING A ROOM ON OR" he narrowed his eyes, "TURNING THE TWO BEDROOMS INTO THREE SMALLER ONES WITH LESS SPACE. I'M NOT SURE, I'D NORMALLY ASK SANS..." He smiled optimistically, "I HAVE LOTS OF MONEY SAVED UP... SO, SO IT SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM... I THINK..." His brow crumpled and he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hmmm." Ms. Lapin said thoughtfully, "Well, once you've got everything sorted out, you come to me and I'll get that bed for you."

She rang up the items and put them in a bag.

"Are you ok, Pap?" Frisk asked hesitantly as they walked back to the house.

He smiled reassuringly, "OF COURSE! HOW COULD THE GREAT PAPYRUS BE ANYTHING LESS THAN AMAZING?!"

" _You seemed unsure of yourself back at the store. It was just a little odd for you._ " Chara said.

"I JUST REALIZED THAT SANS ALWAYS PAID FOR EVERYTHING, THE HOUSE, THE BILLS... ANYTIME I MENTIONED WANTING TO DO SOMETHING HE ALWAYS TOOK CARE OF IT. I ONLY EVER BOUGHT FOOD. THAT'S WHY I HAVE A LOT OF SAVINGS, THAT'S WHY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO." He sighed, "IT'S FINE. I'LL FIGURE IT ALL OUT! IT'S MY TURN TO TAKE CARE OF THINGS! THIS TIME, I'LL BE THE TAKER-CARER!"

" _I think you'll do great, Papyrus._ " Chara said.

Frisk cheered, "You can do it!"

He grinned and patted them on the head.

Back at the house, Papyrus pulled out the rest of the ingredients, pushing them all onto the small counter, and pulled out large mixing bowl with a flourish.

Chara pushed their sleeves back, " _Ok, let's do this._ "

Papyrus got them a step stool to stand on so they'd be able to help.

It was, messy. They dropped an egg on the floor and Papyrus slipped on it, ended up banged up with egg all up his back and in his scarf. There was egg shell in the batter, they tried to pick it out but Chara was certain they'd missed some. Papyrus let them stir and when they put in the flour, it poofed up like a cloud and gently covered both of them. They didn't splash the milk though.

Papyrus held the bowl up so Frisk could scrape the batter from the bowl into the pan. Papyrus set it in the preheated oven and stood back satisfied. They were both covered in egg and flour and the kitchen was a mess.

Papyrus and Frisk cleaned up the kitchen as best they could and put everything away while it baked. The kitchen soon filled with the sweet smell of cake. They both jumped when the timer went off and they pulled the cake out. It was golden and smelled amazing.

"WOWIE." Papyrus said softly.

They all stared at the cake, transfixed while they waited for it to cool. Papyrus didn't even complain about it being unhealthy when they each had a piece, soft and warm.

"It's so goood!" Frisk said excitedly, bouncing on their toes, "And we made it! We made it all by ourselves!"

"WE SUCESSFULLY 'BAKED'! WE ARE NOW BAKERS!"

Chara said, " _Next time, let's make a chocolate cake. Chocolate is always better._ "

"NEXT WE SHALL CHALLENGE THE FRONTIERS OF CHOCOLATE BAKING!" Papyrus said, "BUT FIRST, WE NEED TO GET CLEANED UP."

Frisk looked down at their flour covered shirt and back up at Papyrus, "but you don't have a bathroom."

Papyrus looked at them in confusion, "A BATH-ROOM? IS THAT A HUMAN THING? WE HAVE A BATHHOUSE. THEY DO LAUNDRY TOO."

Papyrus collected up a big bag of laundry and they walked to the bathhouse. It was in Waterfall and, unsurprisingly, run by woshuas. The bathhouse had two separate bathing rooms marked as, 'Shy' and 'Not Shy'. Frisk left their clothes to be cleaned and got sprayed down by a woshua, and washed their hair with some shampoo they found, 'Flea-No-More', probably left by a one of the royal guard. After they were clean the woshuas let them soak in the big tub.

It was late afternoon when they got back home. Papyrus decided to use the rest of the day the clean up the rest of the house. Frisk got their stick to go spar with Undyne. Before they left, they got another slice of cake and took it around back to the secret lab door behind the house. Frisk wasn't sure if he would be there, but it was worth trying. Chara voted they didn't bother but Frisk ignored them, knocking on the door with more confidence than they felt. They did their best not to shrink back as they heard steps and Sans opened the door.

Frisk held the plate out in front of themselves like a shield, "Pap and I made cake."

"cake, huh?" Sans looked like he hadn't had any sleep or too much, either way he looked awful. He looked at the plate and then up at them. "you're stubborn, you know that?"

Frisk nodded, "I'ma keep trying," they mumbled.

"good luck with that." he took the plate, "thanks, won't have to get lunch now." and closed the door.

Frisk let out a long breath.

Chara said, _Well, that could've gone, worse, I guess. So there's that at least._

"I'll keep trying." Frisk said to themselves, biting their lip, "I won't give up." They pulled the shoulder strap tight to their back and started walking out of town to find Undyne.

MK called out to them as they passed Grillby's, "Y-Yo! Frisk!"

Frisk turned, their face splitting into a grin, "MK!" They ran over to them and gave them a hug. "I haven't seen you since Waterfall, did your mom get mad at you for sneaking off?"

MK said, "I mean, sort of, but I was really bummed so she just sent me to my room for a while."

"Sorry, I haven't come to talk to you since then, a lot of stuff happened." Frisk said.

MK looked at the ground and scuffed their toe in the snow, "Uh, I've been kinda, doing some thinking... I've seen you hanging around Undyne a lot but, after what she did I don't understand why? She was really uncool, trying to kill you and stuff. It was kinda... mean."

"Oh." Frisk blinked, "but, she just thought she was gonna save everyone. She was just doing her job."

MK protested, "BUT-!"

"It's ok!" Frisk said, "I mean, aside from you, almost everybody's tried to attack me."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad I never attacked you, cause you're my friend." MK said.

Frisk pointed down the road, "I gotta go..."

"Yo! What are you doing? Why do you have a stick?" MK asked, their tail flipping back and forth with restless energy.

"Undyne is gonna help me train. I use the stick to help me fight cause I don't have monster magic and can't make bullets." They reached back and touched the handle of the stick, "Actually, Undyne gave me this! It used to be hers before she could form her spears."

"It was Undyne's?" MK said their eyes getting wide.

Frisk nodded, "Yeah! She had to use it to help her magic 'cause she wasn't very good at first."

"But she's the Captain of the Royal Guard!" MK said.

"Well, it took a lot of practice." Frisk said.

MK hesitated then said, "...Yo, do you think I could come watch you and Undyne train together?"

"Sure!" Frisk said, "But tell your mom first this time."

"Come on, dude!" MK groaned, "...Fine. I'll be right back!" They ran up the street as fast as they could, slipping and smacking their face in the ground along the way.

Frisk pulled their hands into the coat and waited.

After a few minutes MK ran back grinning, "I just have to be back for dinner! Let's go!"

(a/n: Heyo, update on wednesday.

I just want to say thanks for all the nice messages I received last week. I was really chuffed to receive them.

Chuffed- meaning very pleased, british slang first used around 1960. I tend to pick up weird slang.

Also here's the cake recipe altogether in case anyone wants to make it.

Simple White Cake

1 cup white sugar, ½ cup of butter, 2 eggs, 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ¾ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

If you want to make it but don't think you can eat it before it goes stale, substitute the ½ cup of butter for a ½ cup of margarine. The oil in the margarine will keep the cake fresh longer than the fats in the butter.)


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Frisk and and MK walked out of Snowdin to where Undyne was training the guard dogs. Frisk giggled when they got close enough to see her, with a large stick in her hand, slowly moving it back and forth in front of the Dogs. Doggo and Dogaressa were the only ones who were managing to stay focused, eyes trained on Undyne. Dogamy was doing ok but was panting despite himself and every now and then his eyes would flick to the stick moving. Lesser and Greater were completely captivated, following the stick with their whole head, bodies quivering, tails wagging in anticipation.

Undyne looked like she was ready to kill something.

Lesser Dog leapt for the stick. Undyne flicked it out of reach and smacked Lesser on the back of the head as they landed.

"BACK IN LINE!" She snarled, "FOCUS! If this was a real battle, doing something like that would get you dusted. UNDERSTAND?!"

"YES CAPTAIN!"

"WOOF WOOF!"

Frisk waved as they got close and everybody wagged their tails and waved back.

Undyne sighed, "...Hey, punks."

" _Not going so well?_ " Chara asked with a smirk.

Undyne hurled the stick at them. Chara stepped nimbly out of the way as Lesser Dog charged past them chasing after the stick, Greater right on their heels.

Chara snorted, " _I'll take that as a no._ "

"Whoa." MK said, glancing over their shoulder at the charging mass of dogs.

"Is it ok if MK watches us practice?" Frisk asked.

"If they stay out of the way." She turned to what was left of the guard, "I'm gonna work with Frisk for a while. You lot can take a break or watch, I don't care, just stay back." her eye twitched and she grinned, "I have some serious frustration to work out."

Doggo, Dogamy and Dogaressa decided to stay and watch. MK went over and stood next to them, their tiny yellow body almost vibrating with excitement.

Frisk took off their coat and pulled their stick out. They took a deep breath and placed their hand over their soul, summoning it up in a blaze of red.

"Yo... that's what a human soul looks like?" MK said in quiet awe.

Frisk stood in front of Undyne and saved the place, then walked to the side a few meters away and save that place.

Undyne materialized a spear in a buzz of magic and tossed it lightly in her hand, "You ready punk?"

"Can you try your green magic on me?" Frisk said, "I wanna see if I can break free of it by teleporting."

She grinned cockily, "Go ahead and try."

She swung her spear and Frisk felt the green magic settle over their soul like a net. They took a deep breath and focused on their other saved place and summoned up the determination to pull. There was a disorienting wrench that made their head sing with pain, as they tried to move but their feet were nailed tight to the spot.

Frisk pressed a hand to their head, "Can't do it." They said through gritted teeth.

Undyne undid the green magic with a wave and stuck the point of her spear in the snow, leaning on it, "Take your time." She said calmly, but also a little pleased with herself.

Frisk took a bunch of deep breaths in succession and shook their head as the last of the pain faded.

They set their feet and closed their eyes, focusing their senses on Undyne, her magic white and sharp; and to their side where their save points glimmered like silver stars. "Ok, I'm ready." they raised their stick.

Undyne pulled their spear from the snow and raised it, around her spears materialized like a halo of blue. "I'm not gonna play fair." She warned. "I know you can handle it."

Frisk nodded.

They felt the strange sensation of being too tight in their own body as Chara layered their consciousness tight to theirs and tightened their grip on the stick. _Let me lead on this stuff, you focus on the magic stuff._ They said.

Frisk relaxed and shifted their focus.

Undyne didn't bother starting out slow. There were no patterns just a deluge.

Chara whipped the stick out in front of them like a scythe smashing three spears out of the air. They breathed out. A spear shot at them from the side, Chara jumped back and brought the stick down breaking that spear and two more in front of them.

Undyne's wrist flicked and more spears formed around her and Frisk. Behind them and on both sides.

There was a moment of stillness as the spears hung motionless in the air.

Don't move, Frisk said softly.

They held still, held their breath, as the spears suddenly seared through the air at them. Frisk grabbed the furthest silver star and pulled. The world pivoted, Undyne's spears smashed together and shattered beside them filling the air with shards of blue and the sharp tang of magic.

They grinned. With their eyes closed teleporting didn't make them dizzy.

In the brief moment before Undyne redirected her spears, Chara extended the stick out, pointing it at Undyne's chest. They smirked with a 'I could hit you right now' expression on their face.

"NGAHHHH!" She snarled and threw a spear with all her strength, three more followed behind.

Chara jerked to the side, barely bringing up their stick in time to deflect the spear. Frisk pulled them back to the other save point. Three spears sank into the ground where they had been standing.

Chara stepped back with a gasp. Undyne hurled another spear. They jerked their stick up just in time to push the spear above their soul. A yellow spear snaked around them like a serpent at their back. Chara spun and flicked it out of the air.

Undyne clenched her jaw, spread her hands. More spears appeared, and they were faster. Yellow and white light like bees made of lightning snaked towards them only to be swatted out the air. Breathe in. Turn, breaking spears like glass, filling the air all around them. Smash down, duck, step to the side, sweep the stick up. The world moved as they pulled from one save point to another. Breath out. Smash the spears coming from the front, sidestepped and backed away. Yellow spears swung round, they ducked and the spears crashed into one another overhead in an acetic rain of magic. More coming already, too many. Frisk pulled. The world moved.

Something was wrong.

Fading. Frisk can feel the save points fading every time they used them, getting smaller, harder to feel, to use. They tried to focus, tried to make a new point. The spears were coming too fast. Chara was constantly moving. Frisk clutched at the lingering wisps of the save point and pulled them towards it.

Chara skidded, sliding across the snow, barely catching themselves and darting to the side as four spears hit in a line behind them.

They needed to stop.

Chara lashed the stick out in an arc. Two yellow spears hidden in the cloud of blue, flipped and, Frisk grabbed and pulled them away. Gone. The save point was gone. They tried to tell Chara, but they couldn't hear Frisk, even if they shouted, every fiber of their being was focused on the fight.

Chara sucked in a breath, darting the stick out to the side and breaking two spears, pulling it to the front hitting another three away, as they spun and broke a spear baring down on them from the the back. But more were coming.

Frisk reached out to the wisp of the last save point and grasped it desperately even as they shoved Chara out of control- into a body gasping for breath, raging with adrenaline, heart pounding; they gasped, "Stop!" as six spears drove through their soul.

Their vision went black, pain shot through their body. Their mouth tasted of blood.

Ears ringing. Soul cracking, felt like shards of glass and fire down their nerves. Their knees jolted against the ground. They instinctively tried to catch themselves, but too weak, they slid across the snow onto their side. It had been a long time since they had felt this. This feeling of dieing. As the darkness started to pull their consciousness away, they had the thought; that it was very, strange, not to fear death.

A warmth pressed against their side and through the ringing in their ears, they could hear shouting. Hands braced their shoulders and arms, pulled them up, Held them gently.

There was-

Warmth.

The pain began to ebb.

They breathed in.

The warmth spread, from their soul to their fingertips.

Slowly, their vision came back, like going through a tunnel into light. The tight pressure, the sharp lattice of pain faded. The cracks in their soul were mending.

Frisk blinked and tried to focus their eyes. Doggo was holding them, his eyes darting back and forth frantically searching for movement. He relaxed as he saw them blink. The other dogs were all gathered around Frisk in a circle, whimpering anxiously.

MK was pressed to Frisk's side, tears and snot streaming down their face. MK's soul pulsed, vivid white, their magic surrounding Frisk's soul in a halo of green.

" 'm ok." Frisk said. They pulled their arm free and pressed MK's shoulder, "...I'm ok." they repeated, "stop, kay? don't do too much." They took a deep breath and focused, pulling their soul deep inside themselves once more, cutting it off from MK's healing magic.

"You're ok?" MK sniffled, "Yo, I thought you were done for, I thought-" They hiccuped a sob, their jaw clenching with the effort to not break down into a blubbering mess right then and there.

Frisk slowly sat up, Doggo's hand on their back, steadied them, "You healed me, MK." They pressed a hand over their fading glow of their soul. "You used magic."

"I did?" MK said, "Me?"

Greater Dog tugged a pink handkerchief from inside their armor and daintily dabbed MK's eyes dry and then patiently held it over their nose. MK screwed up their face and blew into the handkerchief. Greater wiped their nose clean, folded the handkerchief into a neat square and tucked it back in their armor.

There was a groan outside the ring dogs which parted to show Undyne, kneeling in the snow, leaning on her hands, bent over so far her forehead almost touched the snow. She was breathing hard, pale and sweating heavily despite the biting cold. She struggled to pull her eye open and look up at them, "...you... ok... punk?"

Frisk nodded.

" _are you?_ " Chara asked concerned.

She forced a wide toothy smile, "overdid it... a little..."

" _hah._ " Chara said, " _understatement of the century._ "

"I used magic?" MK murmured in wonder, staring blankly at the snow.

Frisk told them, "You used soul magic and fixed me up."

"I thought I couldn't," MK sniffed, tears dripping down their cheeks, "I thought, I was screwed up. A-a monster that can't use magic-"

Greater Dog produced another handkerchief, sherbert orange, and dabbed MK's eyes.

Dogaressa and Dogamy leaned in on either side of MK and patted their shoulders.

Dogamy said, "Healing soul magic is very rare,"

"if you can heal with your whole soul, you usually can't make bullets." Dogaressa said.

"Oh." MK looked down at the snow, "Guess I'll never be able to fight then, huh? Guess, I'll never be a hero..."

" _You can save a lot of lives as a healer, you know?_ " Chara said softly, " _There's more than one way to be a hero._ "

They looked up, hope creeping onto their face, "Yeah? You think?"

Frisk and Chara nodded.

"We should go back to town." Doggo said, "Eat something."

Everyone nodded.

"Agreed." Undyne groaned.

Greater Dog walked over to Undyne and lifted her up, laying her over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Doggo pivoted on his knee, so his back was to them, "Grab on." he said.

Frisk looped their arms around his neck and lay against his back as he stood up.

"No petting." he warned.

Frisk agreed with a, "K." though they really wanted to scratch his bristly fur.

Greater lead the way back to town. MK glanced around looking left out. Lesser picked MK up and sat them on their shoulders, holding onto MK's feet.

"Whoa! This is great!" MK said excitedly.

They went to Grillby's. Undyne was laid out in a booth, her feet hanging over the end. Frisk and MK sat in the booth across from her. The rest of the guard took their usual spots around the big table.

Grillby brought a plate of fries for Frisk and MK to share, and three burgs with extra cheese for Undyne. She didn't bother to get up to eat them, simply reaching up, flailing around with her hand until she found one and then pulling it down to her mouth.

As they were finishing off the fries MK sighed, "I mean healing is cool 'n all, but I really wanted to be in guard and fight stuff, you know?"

Frisk grabbed a couple fries and held them out. MK bit them and chewed on them in sullen silence.

Undyne slammed her hand down on the tabletop and pulled herself up, "STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF, PUNK!" Undyne said, her eye flashing.

MK jumped, their eyes getting really big.

"You see anyone else whining?!" She pointed to Doggo, "Doggo can only see something when it moves! Dogamy and Doggaressa rely on their noses cause their eyesight stinks! Lesser and Greater are very... dog-like." she pointed at Frisk, "And they can't make bullets." She leaned forward menacingly, "If you want to be in Royal guard then find a way! If you can learn to fight with a stick, an axe, or with the mindless enthusiasm of a dog at play, then you can be in the guard! I'd kill to have a guardsperson that can fight AND heal!" She jabbed her finger at MK's face, "Don't give up just because things are looking rough, punk! Keep trying! FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU WANT!"

"O-Ok!" MK said, their eyes shining. "Yo, I'm gonna be the best guardsperson ever!"

"Good." She lay back down on the bench, taking her last burg with her.

"You have to be better than me then." Frisk said, nudging MK with a grin on their face.

MK grinned and bumped them back. "Dude, you're on."

They finished up the last of the fries.

"We're gonna go home now, Captain." Frisk said as they slid out of the booth.

"Alright." She braced her arms on the booth and the table and pulled herself up. She wrapped both arms around Frisk and picked them up in a bone crushing hug, "take care of yourselves, punks." She sat them down and ruffled their hair with a huge grin and walked over to the guard dog table, throwing her arms over Dogamy and Doggaressa's shoulders.

Frisk held the door open for MK, shivering as they stepped out in the cold. They walked together to the crossroads.

MK said, "Yo, you're super good at fighting."

" _More like, super good at dodging,_ " Chara said.

"hrm," MK scuffed their toes in the snow, "I dunno if this is super rude to ask or not, but why does your voice change like that sometimes? Like, it gets a little deeper and doesn't talk like you, er, like you normally do."

"Oh!" Frisk gasped, "I forgot we never told you!"

"We? Told me what?" MK asked.

"Um, I'm sharing my soul with someone, they were human too but they died and now we're together." Frisk said.

MK scrunched their face up.

" _Greetings, MK._ " Chara said, " _My name is Chara, we've spoken before but I neglected to introduce myself._ "

"...Whoa." MK breathed, "so... you're like, two people, in one body?"

They nodded.

"Geez, no wonder you're so good at fighting with two of you to do it!" MK said, "Who controls what? Or do you take turns or-?"

Frisk giggled, "Most of the time we just take turns but when we're fighting I do all the magic stuff and," Chara added, " _I do the physical stuff, dodging and attacking._ "

"Wow!" MK said, "So, yo, I made two new friends rather than just one!? Can I tell or is it like a secret?"

"It's not a secret." Frisk smiled. "You can tell."

Chara snorted, " _It'd be a really poorly kept one if it was._ "

"Yo, I better get home but I have like a bunch of questions, are you busy tomorrow?" MK asked.

"Yeah." Frisk said, "I'm doing a tons of stuff tomorrow. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Nah," MK looked at the ground, "I mean I can't really use one so..."

"Oh." Frisk said apologetically.

They both stared at the ground awkwardly.

Chara broke the silence, " _Have you ever met Dr. Alphys?_ "

"The scientist lady?" MK shook their head, "No, she's kinda weird, isn't she? And no one's seen her around for, like, ever."

" _She is kinda weird._ " Chara smiled, " _But in a good way and she's really nice. She's an inventor. She might be able to make something for you._ "

"Like what?" MK asked skeptically.

Chara shrugged, " _I don't know but I'm pretty sure she could help you._ "

"We could go with you, if you like. Alphee is our friend." Frisk said.

"Yeah, well, if you really think she could, I guess, it'd be an adventure at least." They agreed reluctantly, "It's getting late so I better go. I'll see you in a couple days?"

"Uhuh." Frisk nodded.

They hugged MK and waved goodbye as the little monster barreled home at top speed.

Frisk hurried back home. Papyrus was just finishing cleaning. The house was sparkling clean and smelled like oranges. He'd even washed the sock under the post-it note chain and then very meticulous put back where it was before with a new note attached to the top chain.

They had leftovers for dinners and ate in front of the tv. One of Mettaton's specials was on, in which he lounged on black velvet while rose petals swirled down around him for three hours. Every ten minutes or so, a large fan would be turned on and abruptly blow away the drifts of flower petals.

"THERE AREN'T USUALLY RE-RUNS ON TONIGHT." Papyrus said as he took their plate and went to the kitchen.

" _He must be busy preparing for tomorrow._ " Chara said.

Even as they said it, a bright yellow banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen, announcing in bold scrolling text that all day tomorrow there would be a 'SPECTACULAR, SUPER SPECIAL SHOW, ALL NEW, ALWAYS AMAZING, GRAND REVEAL, GRAND FINALE, OF THE MAGNIFICENT METTATON!'

Frisk shivered.

" _Nervous?_ " Chara asked.

"A little." Frisk admitted, "Last time I didn't really know the whole Underground was watching. It's kinda scary."

" _Speaking of, Alphys hasn't called us. She's probably having an anxiety attack about using the phone._ "

Frisk nodded and pulled out their phone and dialed her number, "I'll call then." They pressed the phone to their ear as it rang.

Alphys picked up right before it went to voicemail, fumbling and stuttering, "H-Hello? I was just, just, uhh, going to call you."

"Hi, Alphee." Frisk said.

"Um..." Alphys paused for a long time, her anxiety practically radiating through the phone line, "Ijustwantyoutoknow the quiz show wasn't my idea, or the cooking show, or the news show, or um, a-actually most of it was Mettaton's idea..." She laughed nervously, "I told him I'd turn on the traps and lasers but, I, uh, lied... because I won't be."

Frisk giggled.

" _Could you tell us what Mettaton's going to do?_ " Chara asked.

"O-of course!" Alphys said, "I'll tell you e-everything he told me but, eheh, it, it didn't all make sense to me and it might change because... because Mettaton."

They listened closely as Alphys did her best to explain tomorrows events. They sounded the same as they were before, which was a relief.

She finished with, "A-after you get here, I'll have to make some modifications to your phone."

"Ok." Frisk said, "Thank you for helping me, Alphee."

"Sure, I mean, of course, I mean, we're friends and I want to help..." She mumbled anxiously, "Ihopeeverythingworks."

"It's gonna be great." Frisk reassured her.

Chara added, " _Besides, if anything goes really wrong, Frisk can just reload our save point._ "

"I'd r-rather it didn't come to that." Alphys said, "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Alphee." Frisk said, clicking off the phone.

Papyrus let them have another, smaller piece of cake for dessert, then got the blankets and tucked the around Frisk on the couch. He tried to read them Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny but he almost put himself to sleep halfway through and had to go to bed.

Frisk lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling.

 _So, what happened durning the fight?_ Chara asked, _Everything was so hectic, I forgot to ask._

"The save places faded every time I used them until they were gone." Frisk said softly, "I think... determination doesn't last very long when it's not attached." They shifted under the blanket, "The save points too, the one I save at last is still attached but all the older one's fade away, except the first one." they sighed, "I'd like to study that one once everything is ok again."

 _Just so I understand, the saved places disappear every time you use them, like they degrade or something?_

"Degrade?" Frisk asked.

Chara explained, _Break down._

Frisk nodded.

Chara sighed.

"It's 'cause it's soul magic, I think. I don't make anything solid like a bone so it's just pure magic, or Determination? Is Determination magic or, a type of magic or is it a different human thing?" Frisk frowned,.

 _No humans use soul magic anymore, except you. There are no teachers, you just have to figure it out yourself._

Frisk pulled the blanket up to their nose, "It sucks."

Chara laughed, _Yeah. It really does. I wish I could help but none of it makes any sense to me. If there was a book or something I might be able to make sense of that._

"Still sucks." Frisk muttered.

 _Tomorrow will be fun though._ Chara grinned, _By the end of the day, you'll be the new star of the Underground._

(a/n: Update next Wednesday, 4/6.

Writing fight scenes is exhausting, probably because I'm not very good at it. One of these days I'll be able to write a fight scene as quickly as I can write a conversation and that will be a good day.

Hope everybody's excited for some Mettaton shenanigans, I just hope I do't end up making him too over the top, if that is at all possible.

A short preview of next weeks upcoming episode!: Lights, Cameras, Action, Drama and... Alphys, darling, please stay on script, the Underground's Greatest Star in the defining role of a generation, !~*METTATON*~!)

3


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Frisk tugged on their tutu to try and smooth out the crumpled tulle.

Papyrus very carefully tied the faded ribbon in their hair, his face set in intense concentration. He finally seemed satisfied and held up a mirror for Frisk to see.

They tilted their head to see the bow better. It was lopsided and was tied too loose, so it would probably fall out before the day was over. Frisk smiled, "It's perfect! Thank you, Pap."

He beamed. "THIS IS SO EXCITING!" He said as helped them put on their backpack.

"Yeah!" Frisk nodded, "I hope everything works."

"OF COURSE IT WILL! YOU'RE DOING IT AFTER ALL!" Papyrus squeezed their shoulders, "JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO, BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"You could come watch if you wanted, I think." Frisk said.

"THAT IS TEMPTING..." he narrowed his eyes, "NO! I SHALL STAY HERE AND PREPARE A CELEBRATORY FEAST AND WATCH IT ON TV. I'M GOING TO RECORD EVERYTHING SO EVEN IF I MISS EVEN A MILLISECOND I CAN WATCH IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"

Frisk grinned.

"I'VE INVITED EVERYBODY I CAN THINK OF TO THE CELEBRATION! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said. "CALL ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL!"

Frisk held up their arms and Papyrus knelt down so Frisk could hug them. They pressed their foreheads together with a giggle and a nyeh heh heh.

Frisk check themselves over one more time, bow and tutu, backpack and phone, and their stick, they were ready to go. Papyrus walked them to the ferry and they waved to each other until they were out of sight. Frisk sat down at the front of the boat out the way for the long morning commute to Hotland.

Butterfly nervousness flickered through their stomach as they stepped of the boat and walked toward the lab. The lab door slid open as they approached. The lights were all off inside except Alphys giant monitor which was showing a live feed of them as they walked through the room, most likely from the tv cameras. Frisk walked past the monitor and the lights flickered on as they passed Alphys desk. The elevator door slid open.

Alphys hurried out of the elevator and did a terrible job of being surprised to see them. She smiled awkwardly as Frisk walked up, "H-Hi! I'm Dr. Alphys, I'm Asgore's Royal S-uhh, Inventor or, maybe Engineer..." Her face froze in terror and she fumbled her phone out of her pocket, clicked it on, and read frantically. She looked up and grinned nervously, "I'm not one of the 'bad guys' in fact, since you stepped out of the ruins I've, umm..." she consulted her phone again, "been 'observing' your journey through my console. Your fights. Your friendships. Everything!"

Frisk tried not to grin.

Alphys must have noticed anyway and her scales started to pink in embarrassment. She ducked her head slightly, reading straight from the phone as quickly as she could manage, "I was originally going to stop you but watching someone one on a screen really makes you root for them. So now I'm going to help you!" She scrolled down, "Using my knowledge-" she blushed redder and shook her head slightly, "I can easily guide you through Hotland! I know a way through, no problem! There's just a tiny issue. A long time ago I made, I made-" She turned bright red, "the most amazing robot ever created with the grace of a swan and the beauty of a..." she stopped.

Frisk giggled and covered their mouth their hands.

Alphys frowned and scrolled down on her phone, then scrolled further down, then with a sigh further down, "...Ah! F-finally... I built him to be an entertainment robot, to be a robotic tv star. Recently, I decided to make some adjustments to him like some anti-human combat features. So that he might be the true hero of-?" her voice trailed off and she glared at the phone screen muttering, "...and save-? ...evil tyranny? " She stopped and rolled her eyes, "Really Mettaton? S-seriously? I'm n-not going to-"

There was a loud slamming noise and the lab shuddered. Alphys and Frisk stumbled. There was another slam, dust rained down from the ceiling. The wall creaked. The slamming became more regular. The cracks spread as the wall bowed out, plaster and dust clattered to the floor. The lights flickered off and left them all in dim shadows. There was a brief moment of silence and Frisk could hear the sound of a camera zooming in.

"Oh no." Alphys groaned, "I should have never agreed-"

The wall finally gave up the fight, with one last slam, chunks of plaster and metal skidded across the ground with a clatter, wiring sparked and bent pipes dripped water ominously as Mettaton emerged from the wall in all his boxy glory. "OOOOH YES!" He said, his voice reverberating off the walls. He rolled out of the Mettaton shaped hole in the lab wall and posed, lifting one tube arm, the other held a microphone near his display, "WELCOME, BEAUTIES...!" Above them a spotlight turned on and bathed Mettaton in light and he waved, as a flashing neon 'Game Show' sign descended behind him along with two spinning disco lights and a rain of confetti. A clap track and music started playing, "OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW!"

Frisk shook the confetti from their hair.

The M on Mettaton's screen flashed, "EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT!" Mettaton clapped his hand against his microphone but the loud, hollow clapping seemed to be coming from his speaker.

Frisk glanced around and spotted the glimmer of a camera mounted on the wall behind them and waved.

"NEVER PLAYED BEFORE GORGEOUS?" He asked.

Chara snickered in their head.

"NO PROBLEM!" Mettaton continued without missing a beat, "IT'S SIMPLE! THERE'S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY... OR YOU DIE!"

Alphys curled her tail around her feet unhappily.

A touchscreen mounted on small podium was wheeled out in front of Frisk by two monsters wearing white coveralls.

"LET'S START WITH AN EASY ONE!" Mettaton said cheerfully, tossing the microphone off the side and pulling a stack of question cards from somewhere behind him, "WHAT'S YOUR PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?"

The touchpad lit up with four choices. Frisk glanced up and saw Alphys signaling them frantically from the side, making a D with her hands. They picked, D. More Questions. There was a cheerful dinging noise and confetti rained down on them.

"RIGHT!" Mettaton put his hands on the sides of his monitor as if he was genuinely surprised. "SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT!"

Frisk tried to brush off the confetti, it was sticking to their tutu. The next question was about the Kings full name. They answered that one without help and sighed as more confetti settled in their hair.

"ENOUGH ABOUT YOU, LET'S TALK ABOUT ME!" Mettaton asked, "WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OF?"

Alphys signaled B. Metal and Magic.

" _Where's the option for glitter and glamour?_ " Chara said as they pressed B.

Mettaton raised a finger and then slowly lowered it, "THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A GOOD OPTION ACTUALLY..." he conceded. The correct answer bell dinged loudly and another coating of confetti fell, "WELL, ONWARDS," He said and his voice shifted back into announcer mode, "HERE'S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!"

A paragraph long word question came up. Alphys narrowed her eyes and leaned over for a closer look. Before the timer even started to tick down she signaled them the correct response.

If it were possible for a robot box to give someone the side eye, Mettaton would've done it right then. "DON'T 'COUNT' ON YOUR VICTORY..." he said a little peevishly as he pulled out a massive jar swarming with flies and and set it in front of them.

Again Alphys hardly looked at it for any time at all before having an answer for them. She did a little victory fist pump when the bell dinged and rewarded them with yet more brightly colored confetti.

"CORRECT!" Mettaton cheered and added a little sarcastically, "YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY! WHY DON'T WE PLAY A MEMORY GAME?"

He showed them a quarter of a Froggit face on the screen and asked what monster it was. Frisk wasn't going to be tricked by this one again and choose Mettaton as the answer. They hadn't enjoyed being shocked by that trick question the last time they had done this.

"I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED!" Mettaton said.

Frisk coughed and spit out some confetti. They grimaced, it tasted bitter.

"But can you get this one?" He said.

The next question was, Would you smooch a ghost?

Alphys narrowed her eyes at Mettaton.

Chara laughed.

Frisk reached out to press A.

 _Hey, Frisk..._ Chara said impishly, _Flirt_

Frisk giggled. They pressed a 'heck yeah' and did finger guns at Mettaton with wink.

 _We haven't done that forever!_ Chara snickered.

Mettaton hesitated. The correct bell dinged and confetti fell. "FANTASTIC! CORRECT ANSWER!" He finally said as if the pause hadn't happened.

He asked them how many letters in the name Metaton-nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn... and they pressed Alphys' answer.

"TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!" Mettaton said. Frisk had the strangest sensation that he was looking straight at Alphys as he said it.

"IN THE DATING SIMULATION VIDEO GAME 'MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE'"

Alphys straightened, her eyes suddenly shining with anticipation.

"WHAT," he paused, "IS MEW MEW'S FAVORITE FOOD?"

The answer practically exploded out of Alphys, "OH! OH! I know this one! It's snail ice cream!" She waved her arms, "Intheforthchaptereveryonegoestothebeach! andshebuysicecreamforallherfriendsbutit'snailflavorandshe'stheonlyonewhowantsit! It'soneofmyfavoritepartsofthegamebecauseit'sacutallyverypowerfull message about friendship and..." her scales flushed pink and she began to sweat anxiously.

"ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS." Mettaton tutted, "YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANT, ARE YOU?"

Alphys frantically shook her head.

"OOOOOH! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION..." He said ominously, "YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO."

Alphys covered her face in dread as the next question came up, Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?

"Oh." Alphys relaxed.

Frisk pressed, A- Undyne.

Mettaton said, "SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THE HUMAN FIGURED IT OUT."

Alphys blushed slightly and had a silly little grin on her face.

"YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAM VARIABLES AFTER HER."

 _Aw, how cute._

Mettaton wasn't getting the reaction he had been hoping for, He said uncertainly "...SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE."

" _You write domestic fanfiction about yourself!?_ " Chara said with delight, " _That's the best!_ "

Mettaton stared at them silently. He sighed and continued, "WELL WELL WELL. WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS! BUT BUT! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE!"

The camera's whirred softly as they zoomed in on Mettaton.

"COMING UP NEXT," He pointed at the camera, "MORE DRAMA! MORE ROMANCE! MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME DARLINGS!" he pulled his arms and wheel inside his chassis and blasted off, crashing through the roof and leaving a Mettaton shaped hole to match the one left in the wall.

Alphys pulled a little clip-on microphone off her lab coat and threw it to one of the waiting crew members. "He wasn't s-supposed to ask that last one." she said still a little embarrassed.

The podium was wheeled out of the room. Another crew member came up to Frisk and plucked a microphone from the collar of their shirt, they had no idea when or how it had gotten there.

"I should have never agreed to have the first show i-in the lab." Alphys said morosely.

There was a gentle squeaking from above as a bear crew member in a harness was lowered from a pulley on the ceiling, a large basket over one arm.

Frisk tried to shake the confetti from their hair. The bow came loose and fell on the floor. They picked it up with a sigh.

"Let's go in the b-back." Alphys said, walking over to the conveyer belt and stepping on. Frisk brushed their tutu off one more time and followed her. It was a lot quieter in the back.

"S-sorry about all that." Alphys she pulled out her phone and tossed it on the work bench with a sigh, "When I told Mettaton I wanted to do the p-plan he insisted I write up a script and then he- w-well, you saw how he changed it." her voice dropped to a mutter, " 'Are you helping the contestant', of c-course I am! That was the whole plan..."

Frisk leaned on the counter, "He was kinda mean, embarrassing you on tv like that."

"H-he's mad at me anyway for not finishing his body and he thinks my plan is... well, he doesn't like it much. He says it's unoriginal." Alphys sighed. "Can I see your phone?" She held her hand out.

Frisk handed her their phone. There was a new, large pile of scrap on the counter. She grabbed her tool and got to work.

"... _About the fanfiction comment, I wasn't trying to be mean._ " Chara said, " _I think it's cute._ "

"M-me, cute?" Alphys said nervously.

Chara pulled the faded ribbon from their pocket and carefully untied it, smoothing the fabric. " _It's canon now though._ "

"HAHA HA!" Alphys blushed with a silly smile on her face. "It-It's true isn't it! It's like a dream but it's true!" She pushed their phone back to them and clapped her hands to her cheeks.

Frisk picked the phone up, it was a lot heavier than it was before but still the same size. They turned it over in their hands.

Alphys said, "I- I um, added two transdimensional storage boxes, undernet access, a jet pack and a keychain."

"A jetpack?" Frisk giggled.

"Mettaton said to give you one... he didn't say why." Alphys smiled nervously, "I'm sure it's fine, he knows what he's doing. He's..." her smile took on a strained quality, "Iwouldn'tsayhe'sreliable but he's built the MTT Brand all by himself and has been running it for years now and no one's...died."

" _Truly, a comfort._ " Chara said flatly.

Frisk giggled.

"There's also, in the phone, uhh, it lets you attack with y-your soul by firing little projectiles..." She said softly.

"Oh." Frisk had forgotten about that, "I don't need that though."

Alphys said, "It's just that, y-you can't... Mettaton's metal body is impervious to attack so..."

"I'm not going to attack him." Frisk said, "I don't need to. Can you please remove it, please. I wanna fight with my own power." They held out their phone to her.

She started to reach out, then pulled her hands back to her chest, "M-maybe, just in case? You don't have to use it. I can r-remove it after everything is over, ok?"

Frisk sighed and nodded, dropping the heavy phone back in their pocket.

Alphys, "N-now, I told Mettaton it would take at least a half an hour to get to his next, um, set, so do you want to watch some anime u-until then?"

"Ok."

They watched another episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie and Alphys helped them tie the ribbon back into their hair but she wasn't much better at it than Papyrus had been. Frisk left out the back door. They would have to go through the vents in order to get to the cooking show set but this time there were no puzzles, lasers, or undernet updates to slow them down so it didn't take very long. They sparred with a Vulcan and a Tsundereplane on the way but they were both quick easy fights.

The light began to disappear as they neared the set and Frisk's heart began to pound in anticipation. They thought they felt a tug on their shirt in the dark and when they reached up they felt a new clip on microphone on their collar. Alphys called their phone when it became too dark too see.

"Umm, The lights s-should come on soon. I just called b-because it's in the script." Alphys said, "Good luck, ok? I'm rooting for you!"

"Thanks Alphee." Frisk said softly, as they ended the call and the lights came up in a flash of bright white that made their eyes hurt.

As their eyes adjusted they could make out the kitchen set, blue tile floors, a tan back wall with a counter, set with all the things you'd expect to find in a large kitchen, refrigerator, spice rack, microwave and stove. The front counter, set before all the lights and cameras had a small sink, cutting board, a bowl and... a wedge of cheese.

Mettaton was below the front counter out of sight with his wheel retracted. As the lights came up there was a count from behind the cameras of '3 – 2 – 1-' and a cheerful music started playing. Mettaton, slowly rose with amazing smoothness. He was wearing a small white chefs hat.

"OHHHHH YES!" He cried, gesturing wide as he rose, microphone in hand, "WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUNDS PREMIER COOKING SHOW!"

In front of the counter a sign flashed 'Cooking with a Killer Robot', black with pink writing, and sparkling stars.'

"PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS," Mettaton said with a wave, "BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING..." he paused for effect, "A CAKE!"

He turned to Frisk and gestured to them, "MY LOVELY ASSISTANT HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS. EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!" Mettaton clapped against the microphone, the ringing clap echoing from his speaker as a stream of confetti wafted down on their head.

Frisk expression could not be more sour and they brushed the awful stuff from their tutu.

"WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK AND EGGS." Mettaton said, "GO FOR IT SWEATHEART!"

Frisk went to the back counter and brought each ingredient back with them, one at a time, and sat them on the cutting board.

"PERFECT! GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL!" Mettaton praised them enthusiastically, "WE'VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS WE NEED TO BAKE THE CAKE!" He paused and carefully ticked off the ingredients, pointing to each one, "MILK... SUGAR... EGGS...OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT!" He put a hand to the side of his display in exaggerated surprise, "HOW COULD I FORGET! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!" Mettaton's screen color changed from yellow to red, and he slowly, dramatically, lifted a chainsaw.

Frisk stared at him flatly.

"A HUMAN SOUL!" Mettaton cried, pulling the ripcord on the chainsaw. The chainsaw started up great sputtery, gnawing machine noise, the teeth of the chain whipping around to a blur of grey metal death as he slowly, slowly, inched closer to them his screen flashing from yellow to red and then-!, the phone rang.

Mettaton let off the throttle and let the chainsaw idle to a gentle grumble and answered the phone, "HELLO...?" He said peevishly, "I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE."

"W-wait a second!" Alphys said over the speaker in Mettaton's chest, "Couldn't you make a... Couldn't you use a... Couldn't you make a substitution in the recipe?!" she finally managed triumphantly.

"... A SUBSTITUTION?" Mettaton mused, "YOU MEAN, USE A DIFFERENT, NON-HUMAN INGREDIENT? …WHY?"

"Uhh, what if someone's..." she searched desperately for the word, "...vegan?"

"...VEGAN." Mettaton repeated flatly.

Frisk covered their mouth with both hands, shoulders shaking as they tried desperately not to laugh. Chara didn't have to and filled their head with breathless laughter.

Alphys blurted, "uhwellimean-"

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA, ALPHYS!" Mettaton interrupted without missing a beat., "ACTUALLY I HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION RIGHT HERE!" he turned and gestured to a small counter off to the side of the set with a small red can perched in the center, "MTT BRAND ALWAYS CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF WHICH S JUST OVER ON THAT COUNTER!"

There was a pause. Frisk hadn't moved. Mettaton turned back to to them, "WELL, DARLING? WHY DON'T YOU-"

Frisk set a bottle of MTT Human-soul flavor substitute, actually just vanilla, on the counter.

Mettaton stared at them.

Frisk smiled beatifically. They knelt over their open backpack on the ground and got out, flour, butter and baking powder, setting them beside the other ingredients. Then they took the copied cake recipe from their pocket and handed it to Mettaton.

He took the recipe and looked at it, then at them, "WELL."

Frisk looked at him with their saddest, pleading, puppy-dog face.

He sighed, "CAKE IT IS THEN."

Frisk clapped their hands excitedly, "I can stir!"

Mettaton pouted, stowing his chainsaw and microphone. Then he took something like a deep breath, squared himself up and said brightly, "FIRST! WE MEASURE OUT A CUP OF SUGAR AND A HALF CUP OF BUTTER!" He handed Frisk a measuring cup and that carefully measure out the sugar and dumped it into the purple bowl. The counter came up to their shoulder and Frisk couldn't even see into the bowl.

Mettaton looked offstage and snapped his fingers impatiently. There was a clatter and some hushed whispering behind the cameras and then a crew member hurried out with a small step stool and set in front of the bowl and just as quickly ducked out of sight. Mettaton added the butter to the bowl and handed Frisk a large spoon with a flourish.

Frisk stepped onto the step stool and took the spoon with an excited grin and a, "Thank you." The mixed the bowl, slowly, because if they tried to go fast, the bowl would start to move and they couldn't stir and hold onto the bowl at the same time. After a few moments of struggling, Mettaton, grabbed the bowl holding it in place, "THAT'S IT, DARLING, GIVE IT A GOOD HEARTY STIR!"

Frisk gripped the spoon with both hands and mixed the butter and sugar together until it was light and creamy, "You have to make sure it's mixed really well!" Frisk said.

Mettaton tipped the bowl up so the camera could see, "AND NOW WE ADD, TWO EGGS!" He picked up two eggs, one in each hand and cracked them with a flourish over the bowl. He held the bowl for them as they beat the eggs in.

Frisk said, "the recipe says to beat the eggs into the mixture, that means you have to mix it really, really good."

"NATURALLY!" Mettaton said, "SUCH A WELL INFORMED ASSISTANT!"

Next, Mettaton dumped in the, "ONE AND HALF CUPS OF FLOUR AND ONE AND THREE QUARTERS TEASPOONS OF BAKING POWDER!" before Frisk could say anything. They took care to stir it slowly, "so the flour doesn't poof up." they said.

Last was the cup of milk and the two teaspoons of vanilla. Frisk mixed it in carefully so it didn't splash.

"THAT WAS MARVELOUS, SWEETHEART!" He said.

Mettaton opened one of the drawers in the counter and took out a whisk, grabbed his hand and taking it off with a click and attached the whisk. Frisk stared wide-eyed. Mettaton gave the batter a hearty whisking that also involved a lot of spatter. Frisk ducked behind the counter.

He took off the beater and tossed it over his shoulder into the sink, putting his hand back on, "NOW WE PUT IT IN THE PAN AND INTO THE OVEN IT GOES!" He poured the most of the batter into a small pan and flicked it into the cold oven.

Frisk grabbed the recipe from the counter and said, "Um, preheat to 350 degrees and bake for thirty to forty minutes until done. You can check if it's done with a toothpick, you put it in the middle of the cake and if the toothpick comes out with crumbs or nothing it's done and if it has batter on it, it needs more time!" They looked at Mettaton nervously, hopeful that they had done alright.

"EXACTLY RIGHT!" Mettaton said with only slightly forced exuberance, "AND THE FINISHED PRODUCT SHOULD LOOK LIKE..." he reached under the counter and pulled out an already finished cake, thinner, a little sadder, with a little bit of confetti stuck to it. "THIS! AND YOU CAN DECORATE WITH ANYTHING YOU LIKE!" He pulled out a tube of frosting and squeezed, a plorp of pink spluttered onto the cake. He tossed the tube over his shoulder, "OR, PERHAPS, SOME MTT BRAND, ALWAYS FABULOUS, EVERYDAY-NON-TOXIC-100%-EDIBLE-GLITTER!" and popped open a small container and dumped the contents onto the cake in a heap of pink and silver glitter. "AVALIBLE AT A STORE NEAR YOU! THAT'S ALL FOR TODAYS SHOW, DARLINGS!" The cooking sign flashed back to life in front of them, "STICK AROUND FOR OUR NEXT, EXCITING LIVE SHOW LATER TODAY!"

The music rose and a clap track started as the lights dimmed and for a second they were left in darkness.

When the lights came back on they were the normal overhead lights, and Frisk could make out the two cameras positioned in front of them as well as the bustling crew in their white jumpsuits. Frisk carefully stepped down from the stool and unclipped the microphone from their collar, handing it to the crew member that scurried up to take it.

"THAT WAS WONDERFUL, LOVELIES." Mettaton told the crew, "OUR LITTLE HUMAN IS CERTAINLY MAKING THINGS INTERESTING FOR US BUT YOU'RE ALL MANAGING MARVELOUSLY." The crew glowed under his praise and all moved a little bit faster to pack up and move to the next location.

"NOW, I MUST BE GOING, DARLING." Mettaton told them, "THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO AND ALPHYS HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN GABBING..." He studied them for a moment, "HERE BEAUTIFUL, HOLD STILL."

Frisk did and Mettaton delicately pulled the sagging ribbon from their hair. He flourished a bobby pin from somewhere Frisk didn't see, deftly retied the ribbon into a perfect bow, slipped it onto the bobby pin and then carefully put it into their hair. He crossed his arms over his monitor, studying his work critically, tugged the bobby pin a little straighter and seemed satisfied, "LOVELY AS ROSE!"

"Thank you, Mettaton." Frisk said.

He seemed pleased, "SINCE YOU SEEM TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, I EXPECT ONLY THE BEST, DARLING. SHINE BRIGHT LIKE THE STAR THAT I AM AND WE SHALL MAKE A SHOW THE LIKES OF WHICH THE UNDERGROUND HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!"

Frisk nodded vigorously.

He patted their head and rolled away, shouting orders to the crew as he went and soon they were standing on an empty set alone, with only the faint sound of burbling lava from below.

Frisk let out a breath of relief. "It worked."

 _The look on his face when you put the vanilla on the counter!_ Chara snickered. _And he dumped on the whole can of glitter!_

Frisk giggled, "And when he tried to put on the frosting and it just-!" they made a fart noise with their mouth. Chara snorted and Frisk doubled over laughing hard they couldn't breath, they had to hold onto the counter to keep from falling down and every time they almost stopped, Chara would make another fart noise then Frisk would make one back until their sides ached from laughing.

(Update on wednesday the 13th.

Fart noise have two things going for them, 1. they are fun, 2. they are funny. I highly recommend making them, it really brightens your mood, fun alone, better with friends, and, quite frankly, the absolute pinnacle of humor when you're a kid. Fart noises, beauties and gentle beauties, accept no substitutes!)


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Frisk zipped up their bag and stuffed it into their phones trans-dimensional storage. "I just hope there isn't any more confetti." They said.

Chara said, _That's like saying you hope there isn't going to be any more glitter. With Metta involved you're gonna have both._

Frisk groaned and picked the last of it off their tutu.

 _Are we going to keep heading through or go back and use the elevator?_

"Um..." Frisk thought for a second then shrugged, "keep going I guess."

The path along crossed in front of the core, looming in the distance, and Frisk got a shiver down their spine as they walked past it though they couldn't say why for certain. They took the elevator up a level and went past Sans hotdog stand quickly, the empty stand made them feel sad and worried. They detoured down the path and picked up the stained apron and put it in their phone storage. Just as they were about to put their phone away they got a call from Papyrus.

"Is everything alright, Pap?" Frisk asked.

"EVERYTHING IS AMAZING! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said excitedly, Frisk could hear the faint rattle of his bones over the phone, "I JUST FINISHED WATCHING THE COOKING SHOW!"

"Did I do ok?" Frisk asked.

"OK? OK?! THAT WAS THE BEST COOKING SHOW EVER CREATED! BAKING WITH METTATON! HOW WONDERFUL!"

"You could still come, if you wanted." Frisk said, "I'd meet you by-"

There was a loud ding in the background, Papyrus said, "THAT'S THE TIMER! I SHALL CALL AGAIN!" The phone clicked and all that was left was silence.

 _He seems very excited about this party he's throwing._ Chara said.

"Pap..." Frisk fiddled with their phone absently. "is really cool."

Chara paused then snorted, _You sound like Sans._

"Mm." Frisk looked down at their phone, "It's just, if you're Pap's friend he'll support you one hundred percent no matter what. Anyone else would say things like; it's too dangerous or let the adults handle this."

 _True._ Chara said, _Can you imagine what Toriel would have done if we suggested doing this? Then again she would have thrown a fit about any of it really, she wouldn't even let you spar with a Froggit in the Ruins and they're the most hapless things in the underground._

"Moldsmal." Frisk said absently.

... _I stand corrected._

Frisk walked further down the path, across the conveyers and groaned at the sight of the steam vent puzzle.

" _I got this._ " Chara said confidently.

They didn't have it, and messed up half a dozen times, but Frisk didn't tease them because they _really_ didn't want to do the puzzle.

Chara wiped sweat from their brow a the last steam vent finally pushed them back onto the path. " _Finally._ " They walked past the safe protected cheese and felt a familiar surge of determination and made a save point there, just like old times.

The had only gotten a few paces past the safe when they heard steps behind them and turned. It was Royal Guard One and Two in their imposing black armor, biceps glistening with sweat.

"We've like, received an anonymous tip about a human wearing a striped shirt." One said, his bunny ears twitching.

Two said, "..."

"So we came to check you out." One said, "No worries. Like, Captain Undyne said none of the guard should lay a hand on ya. She said you were totally the best fighter she's ever seen and she's rarely that cool about anyone."

"..." Two said.

One said, "Bro, I know but, like, we're under orders."

Two rolled his shoulders, his muscles flexed and moved like oiled machinery. "..."

"I mean, we could totally ask." One said and turned to Frisk, "So, I know you're busy and we don't wanna be a bummer but would you, like, spar with us?"

Frisk hesitated.

Chara did not, " _Bring it on!_ " They pulled their stick out and gestured impatiently for One and Two to come at them.

"But we don't _have_ to fight them." Frisk muttered annoyed.

Chara radiated disbelief, _No way! This is some quality romantic potential! They_ need _us._

"Uh, both of us?" One asked hesitantly.

Two nodded slightly at them, "..."

"I mean, you're like a kid." One said.

" _A kid that'll kick your butt._ " Chara said with annoyance.

Fine, Frisk said pulling back, You rub his chest. It's _Weird._ I'm not doing it again.

" _Quitter._ " Chara muttered.

One and Two looked at each other. Two shrugged. One said, "Well, alright, I guess."

They drew their swords and squared off facing Chara.

Chara set their feet and took a deep breath, focusing intensely on the two guards. Frisk summoned up their soul with a reluctant sigh. The path was very narrow. Chara glanced at both sides, burning them in their mind so they wouldn't accidentally overstep.

One and Two summoned up their magic. One sent a stream of projectiles from the front while Two attacked from the back. Their magic was rough but powerful and unfortunately for them, very easy to avoid. Chara barely had to move, stepping to the right once and then up and to the left after that.

One and Two paused in anticipation of Chara's attack but Chara simply darted forward and patted vigorously on the mud packed onto Two's chest piece that protected him from overheating. It cracked, and chunks of mud fell to the ground.

"...getting... warmer..." Two said, so softly, that Chara only heard him because they were close. He swatted his sword at them.

Chara jumped back out of the way.

"Like 'you're dead' and all." One said, annoyance in his voice, as he summoned another stream of magic. It was bigger and sharper than the first wave, less like solid projectiles and more like balls of pure magical energy. Two's magic matched it with his own magic coming from the back. Unfortunately, putting more magic into the attack meant they couldn't summon as many and it was even easier to dodge.

Chara grinned and lifted their stick. They brushed a ball of magic away like it was made of cotton and hopped forward, smacking Ones chest piece again sending another rain of mud to the ground.

Behind. Frisk said with a sigh.

Chara dodged the side, ducking as One's sword scythed through where their soul had been moments before. They came back up in front of Two and brushed off a heap of mud. Two swung at them wildly. Chara jerked the stick up and managed to deflect the blow up. They quickly backed up and braced themselves.

Two was sweating. What was left of the protective mud was cracked and fell like a dirt shower with every move he made, exposing the black metal to the heat of the lava.

"...can't... take it..." Two groaned loudly enough for them to hear. "...armor... too... HOT!" He hastily loosened the straps holding the heavy black metal chest piece and pulled it over his head, dropping in the ground with a clang. "...much better." Two's scaly chest glistened with sweat in the lava-light.

Now, One was sweating, glancing at Two out of the corner of his helmet.

Chara just barely resisted the urge to squeal with delight.

You're _weird_ , Frisk groaned.

" _Whatever._ " Chara rolled their eyes, " _You're the weird one. Who doesn't like happy endings?_ "

One sent out another wave of attacks, spotty and lacking in any sort of killing intent. Two attacked as well, apparently without noticing One's distress.

Chara stepped to the side and ran forward. One lunged forward with their sword.

Chara smacked it away impatiently and grabbed One's ear, pulling him closer, " _You should be honest with your feelings. Don't let this moment pass you by, follow your heart._ " They let go of One's ear and stumbled back out the way as Two thrust his sword at their heart.

"...Hmph." Two grunted in disappointment.

One massaged his sore ear mumbling weakly, "I... I..." He frantically sent another wave of attacks, and then just a suddenly stopped. "D-Dude..." he turned to Two, sweating and blushing, "I can't... I can't take this anymore! Not like this!" he dropped his sword and it rolled across the stone walkway with a clatter. "Like, Two! I like... I like, LIKE you, bro!"

Two was still, watching One impassively.

"The way you fight..." One said with impassioned desperation, "The way you talk... I love doing team attacks with you."

Chara realized that Two was frozen with apprehension.

One continued, "I love standing with you, bouncing and waving our weapons in sync... Two..." He hesitated, "I, like, want to stay like this forever..."

Two slowly curled his fingers together and in the silence there was the faintest sound of an intake of breath.

"Uh..." One panicked and shook his head, "I mean, uh... Psyche!" he said weakly, "Gotcha, bro!" he forced a laugh and turned his head so Two couldn't see.

"...One." Two said as if breaking free from a spell.

One hesitantly glanced up, "Y-yeah, bro?"

Two reached out and pressed his hand to One's arm and searched for his eyes. They gazed at one another and One reached up and covered Two's hand with his own.

"...do you want to..." Two said softly, "...get some ice cream... after this...?"

They could feel One's smile as he laughed, "Sure, dude!"

Chara sighed happily and leaned on their stick _._

"Like, sorry about this, but do you mind if we spar some other time?" One asked blushing through his helmet.

" _Yeah, go on._ " Chara grinned.

One and Two walked to the elevators, hand in hand.

Chara slid their stick back in it's sheath. " _See, wasn't that sweet?_ "

"Yeah, I guess." Frisk said, "They're gonna eat all the nice-cream though."

 _Papyrus packed a lunch for us. It's probably not... horrible._

Frisk narrowed their eyes.

 _I'm just saying-! Papyrus is pretty good at breakfast and dinner now but we haven't seen him try making lunch. It could be a lump of cold spaghetti between two slices of bread._

"Bleh." Frisk grimaced, they opened their phone storage and pulled out the bagged lunch Papyrus had given them. They opened the bag very slowly, peering in suspiciously, and let out a sigh of relief. It was a crabapple and what looked like a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

 _I feel kind of disappointed._ Chara sighed, _I'm starting to miss his weird horrible cooking... that is so wrong._

Frisk giggled and put the lunch back in storage. As they walked up the path it started to get dark again, another enclosed area.

 _Which one was this?_ Chara asked, _The news show or the musical?_

"...News, I think?" Frisk said.

A crew member hurried towards them, they looked a bit like an aardvark, a clip on microphone in one claw. Frisk had to bend down so they could reach their collar. They also held up a strange little plug and pointed to Frisk's ear. Frisk nodded and let the little monster put it in their ear and hook it on, pulling Frisk's hair down to hide it from view.

"Can I have a microphone too? Like Mettaton's!" Frisk asked excitedly.

The aardvark hesitated and pulled out a small walkie-talkie and whispered into it then pressed the box to the side of their head. The walkie talkie crackled and they nodded and hurried back into the dark. A few moments later they returned with a microphone. "Prop." They said shortly, "Hurry." They put their small hands behind Frisk and pushed them further into the dark.

Frisk walked a few more paces into the room and stopped. In the darkness someone clapped and said, "Alright everyone, we roll, in five-four," the voice dropped to a whisper, "three-two and-"

The lights came up and Frisk blinked in the glare. News music started playing in the ear piece they had been given, followed by Mettaton's voice.

"OHHHHHH YESSSSS!" He said exuberantly, "GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS!"

Frisk's eyes finally adjusted to the bright lights and they searched for the cameras through the glare. They thought they could make them out, a slight movement, the sound the camera's zoom in the darkness and they turned towards them, standing patiently with the microphone raised to their chin, like the reporters on human news shows always did.

"AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORESPONDENT IS OUT THERE, REPORTING LIVE!" Mettaton said, "BRAVE CORESPONDENT! PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT! OUR TWENTY WONDERFUL VIEWERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU!"

Frisk paused for slightly longer than they needed to, with slightly awkward smile on their face, then said, "Thanks, Mettaton. Here in eastern Hotland we have-" They grinned, pleased with how hard Chara was laughing in their head and walked over to the first item. "a glass of water."

"OH MY!" Mettaton said in mock surprise, "IT'S A COMPLETELY NONDESCRIPT GLASS OF WATER... BUT ANYTHING CAN MAKE A GOOD STORY WITH ENOUGH SPIN!"

Frisk moved on, "And this... is movie script."

"OH NO! THAT MOVIE SCRIPT! HOW'D? THAT GET THERE?" His tone changed and sounded like a conspiratorial lean forward and eyebrow wiggle might sound if it made a noise, "IT'S A SUPER-JUICY SNEAK PREVIEW OF MY LATEST GUARANTEED-NOT-TO-BOMB FILM: METTATON THE MOVIE XXVIII STARING METTATON! I'VE HEARD THAT LIKE THE OTHER FILMS IT CONSISTS MOSTLY OF A SINGLE FOUR-HOUR SHOT OF ROSE PETALS SHOWERING ON MY RECLINING BODY." He paused, "OOH! BUT THAT'S! NOT CONFIRMED! YOU WOULDN'T" He coughed meaningfully, "SPOIL MY MOVIE FOR EVERYONE WITH A PROMOTIONAL STORY, WOULD YOU?"

Chara joined in with a sarcastic, " _I wouldn't dream of ruining the fun._ "

They could just make out a slight tsk in their earpiece, "...PHEW! THAT WAS CLOSE!" Mettaton said very carefully, enunciated every word, "YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A BUNCH OF FREE ADVERTISEMENT!"

Frisk walked up the next item, "This, however," they gestured, "is a Basketball."

"BASKETBALL'S A BLAST, ISN'T IT, DARLING?" Mettaton said, "TOO BAD YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH THESE BALLS."

 _Did he just say that?_ Chara choked.

Frisk brow knit with confusion.

 _Nothing! It's nothing!_ Chara said hurriedly, _I'll tell you in a couple years._

Mettaton continued, "THEY'RE MTT-BRAND FASHION BASKETBALLS. FOR WEARING, NOT PLAYING. YOU CAN'T GET RICH AND FAMOUS LIKE MOI WITHOUT BEAUTIFYING A FEW ORBS."

Chara walked Frisk away, _Come on, next one, next one-_

Frisk lifted the microphone and said, trying hard not to giggle, "Surprisingly, it's a video game."

"OOH LA LA! THIS VIDEO GAME YOU FOUND..." Mettaton paused, "IS DYNAMITE!"

Frisk broke into giggles.

Chara took control to hide Frisk's giggles but couldn't stop a muttered, " _Really?!_ "

"THOUGH I DON'T MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN IT UNTIL THREE-FORTHS IN BUT I LIKE THAT." Mettaton said with wistful drama, "APPEARING FROM THE HEAVENS LIKE MANNA, SLAKING THE AUDIENCE'S HUNGER FOR GORGEOUS ROBOTS... OOH! THAT'S METTATON!"

Chara sighed, _Are we done yet?_

"Ok ok." Frisk said softly and walked over to the dog, "Behold! A dog." they presented the dog with both hands like they had seen on gameshows.

Mettaton never seemed to run out of enthusiasm, or sarcasm, "WHAT A SENSATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A STORY! I CAN SEE THE HEADLINE NOW: 'A DOG EXISTS SOMEWHERE.' FRANKLY, I'M BLOWN AWAY."

Frisk lowered the microphone to the dog's face. It sniffed it politely. Frisk lifted the microphone back up, "Dog says, 'woof'."

"ASTONISHING." Mettaton said deadpan. "ATTENTION VEIWERS! OUR CORISPONDANT HAS FOUND, A DOG!" He paused as a recorded aww was played, "THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS! IT'S THE FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR! LOOK AT ITS LITTLE EARS, TINY PAWS, FLUFFY TAIL... WAIT A SECOND!" he said in alarm, "THAT'S NOT A TAIL! THAT'S..." ominous dundunDUN music played, "A FUSE! THAT'S RIGHT, THAT DOG, IS A BOMB!"

Frisk covered their mouth and did their best to look shocked.

"BUT DON'T PANIC! YOU HAVN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM YET!" he said ominously.

There was a loud crash as a flimsy set above them fell down past the stone column they were standing on and down into the lava below. Mettaton descended on rocket booster to hover before them.

"OH MY!" He said, "IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY A BOMB!" as he gestured to the items littered around the room they popped, spit and hissed ominously with slow burning wicks.

"BRAVE CORRESPONDENT..."Mettaton said solemnly, "IF YOU DON'T DIFUSE ALL THE BOMBS," he glided to the back of the room where a comically large pink bomb with a five minute timer sat ominously, as ominously as a pink bomb that looked straight out of a cartoon can look. "THIS BIG BOMB WILL BLOW YOU TO SMITHEREENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN YOU WON'T BE REPORTING 'LIVE' ANY LONG!"

Chara snickered at the pun.

"HOW TERRIBLE! HOW DISTURBING!" Mettaton continued, "OUR TWENTY-TWO VEIWERS ARE GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THIS! GOOD LUCK, DARLING!"

 _Can I do this one?!_ Chara asked excitedly.

Frisk nodded.

Chara grinned excitedly and tossed the microphone over their shoulder, putting their hands on their hips in a cool pose, " _This'll be no problem at all for Chara, the Courageous Kid Correspondent-tm!_ " Their phone rang and Chara picked up, " _Alphys, we have a situation!_ "

"O-oh?! um...?" Alphys swallowed hard and continued with false gusto, "D-don't worry! I installed a bomb-defusing program on your phone! Just approach a bomb and use the 'defuse' option! N-now, go get 'em!"

" _I can always count on you Alphys!_ " Chara said dramatically.

A dramatic countdown music began playing.

Chara knelt beside annoying dog first, flourishing their phone and making a show of tapping in a code or something complicated as the little defuse program ran. " _Success!"_

"Great job!" Alphys said enthusiastically, getting in on the fun, "Keep heading around the room! Try to go for the one in the bottom-left next!"

Chara ran down, there were three lasers guarding the path to the next bomb. Chara ran through the first orange laser and froze mid-stride as the blue laser passed through them then somersaulted through the last orange laser. " _You call that a challenge!?_ " they scoffed and pulled out their phone to diffuse the video game bomb.

As soon as it was done they ran back through, ducking under the blue laser and running to the large row of conveyer belts where the movie script bounced around from side to side. Chara studied it intensely for a few second then ran up the conveyer belts and snatched up the script with one hand, holding on tight as whatever magic was in it tried to pull it away.

" _This movie is sure to be a runaway hit!_ " Chara said.

Their phone pinged once the program was finished an Chara released the script. They jumped onto the steam vent and started diffusing the present bomb before they even landed. Stepping onto the next vent as their phone pinged. They chased the basketball bomb down as it pinged back and forth between the rocks and managed to pin it down under their foot to diffuse it.

"Great job!" Alphys said "Head for the center! I'm using, uh, EM fields trap the glass of water there!"

" _On it!_ " Chara turned and ran down to the center of the arena, skidding to a halt before the still, ominously hissing, glass of water and activated the diffusing program. " _I don't know if we can make it in time!_ "

The phone pinged, the glass stopped hissing, and the dramatic countdown music stopped suddenly which, was a shame; Chara felt they had really missed the opportunity for a dramatic crescendo.

Mettaton reappeared in front of the cameras, hovering silently a meter above the ground, "WELL DONE, DARLING! YOU'VE DEACTIVATED ALL THE BOMBS!"

" _Thanks boss,_ " Chara said proudly, " _all in a days work for Chara, the Courageous Kid Correspondent-tm!_ "

Mettaton hesitated, "...YES, OF COURSE...I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANYTHING LESS. A TRUE HERO OF THE AGES." He said with a little sigh.

"Y-yeah! We did it!" Alphys said, "We saved the day!"

"AN EXCITING CONCLUSION TO AN EXCITING PROGRAM! STAY TUNED FOR MORE HIGH QUALITY MTT PROGRAMING ON TODAYS SPECIAL, LIVE EVENT!" Mettaton said the cameras and waved. "UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!"

"And we're off the air!" a voice said from behind the cameras.

The bright stage lights dimmed and the normal lava glow replaced it. Chara blinked rapidly trying to get their eyes to adjust back to the normal light.

That was really cool! Frisk said excitedly, It was like a real movie scene.

Chara was incredibly pleased.

"YOU have gone off script once again, lovely." Mettaton said as he lowered to the ground and his rocket was replaced by a wheel. "THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL OPERATION YOU KNOW, NOT AN IMPROV WORKSHOP."

A bear worker, Frisk and Chara recognized him as the confetti thrower from the quiz show, hurried up, a sheet of paper in hand and gave it to Mettaton, "Boss, you should see this." he said softly.

Mettaton plucked the paper up and read it, then read it again, "ARE THESE NUMBERS CORRECT?" he asked.

The bear nodded, a hesitant smile on his face.

"MY WORD." Mettaton breathed, "TWENTY FIVE VIEWERS. IT INCREASED? WE HAVEN'T HAD NUMBERS LIKE THIS SINCE THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL! THIS IS-!" he threw the paper up in the air, "THIS IS MARVELOUS!" he hurried over to Chara and took both their hands excitedly and squeezed them, "I TAKE IT ALL BACK, BEAUTIFUL! YOU JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING! WE'LL ALL WORK TO SUPPORT YOU AND ADAPT," he turned to the crew, "WON'T WE DARLINGS?!"

There was an excited cheer and even a few whoops and whistles.

Chara and Frisk smiled.

Mettaton hesitated and looked down at their hands and let go, rolling back slowly. He seemed troubled.

"WELL, I MUST BE GETTING TO THE NEXT LOCATION," he said abruptly, "WARDROBE ADDS TIME YOU KNOW." He quickly wheeled off, following the crew with their equipment already in tow.

Frisk's brow furrowed in concern, "What if... he doesn't want to fight us in the end? It could ruin everything."

 _Then we'll have to try something else._ Chara said flippantly.

Frisk frowned further and fanned their shirt, "Ew, I'm all sweaty."

Chara snickered.

Frisk shoved them back in control.

" _Ugh_ " The sweat soaked shirt was stuck to their back, Chara peeled it loose, with a mournful " _Come on._ "

Nope, Frisk giggled.

Chara groaned and hurried down the path, fanning the shirt impatiently trying to get it to dry faster, " _It's hot as hel-ck down here you'd think-_ "

"Hello dearie~" a saccharine sweet, skittery voice said, pulling them from their muttering.

Chara froze.

"Welcome to our parlor. Interested in some spider pastries?"Muffet asked, her black spider eyes glinting in the lava light. She leaned forward on her table, "All proceeds go to real spiders~"

Chara stepped back, shaking their head frantically.

Why don't we get one? Frisk said cheekily.

" _Why don't we head back to the elevators?_ " Chara said under their breath.

Aw, Frisk said, but they're tasty! You hardly notice the grittiness.

Chara shuddered, " _Let's just get a starfait at the hotel instead. We can't afford her prices anyway._ "

Booo. Frisk chided, You're no fun.

" _You're scared of Muffet!_ " Chara said crossing their arms.

It's her pet I'm scared of, Frisk said, not her. Muffet is very nice. Anyway, just give her the box in our pocket.

" _What?_ " Chara patted their pocket and found a small matchbox, a little crushed. They turned it over in their hands and went to open it.

Give it! Frisk said impatiently.

Chara jumped slightly and shuffled over to the bake sale table, holding the matchbox out to Muffet.

"What is this, dearie?" Muffet asked, taking the small box, "I don't need any matches. Spiderwebs and fire don't mix, you know~ Ahuhuhu~ "

" _Inside?_ " Chara said uncertainly.

Muffet pulled the inner box out and then carefully tipped it out into one hand, a tiny piece of paper fell out, threatening to blow away at the slightest sigh. She looked up a Chara questioningly and delicately picked it up and narrowed her eyes to read it. "Oh my~~~ Two doughnuts and a spidercider~" she sat up and smiled, "You came from the Ruins?"

"Uh, yes." Chara said stiffly.

"Thank you for supporting our cause~~~" Muffet said cheerfully, all traces of menace instantly gone. She continued, "I've been told some terrible things about you~ A strange shadowy figure said that you hated spiders and offered us a lot of money for your soul~" Her expression saddened slightly, "The spiders in the ruins have been trapped there for generations... with that money we could have finally been reunited~ You needn't worry, I wouldn't hurt a customer, especially one kind to spiders~"

" _Oh,_ " Chara said weakly, feeling like a bit of an butt, "... _I don't have enough gold to buy a doughnut or I would._ " They patted their pockets, " _I have some gold, I could donate-_ "

Muffet waved their offer away with three hands, "That's very kind of you, dearie, but no~ We'll earn it with our lovely pastries~ Spiders are quite proud you know~"

" _Are you sure-_ " they stopped when they're stomach gurgled loudly and for entirely too long. Chara flushed, " _I haven't eaten lunch yet..._ " they said apologetically.

Muffet covered her mouth delicately with the back of one hand as she laughed, "Ahuhuhuhu~ Would you like to have some tea? I'm sure all the spiders would love to hear how our sibling clan fares."

Both Chara and Frisk grimaced, but they felt, determined. " _As long as it's not a tea made of spiders._ "

(a/n: Sorry this is late... The next chapter will be on 4/27, that's not next wednesday, but the one after it. I'm going to take a break for a week. I've been writing this story for five months now and my head cannons have changed a lot, for some characters, and where I was headed with the plot has changed a lot too. SO I need to go back and read through the whole thing and make sure where I was is also where I'm headed. I might change things. If I change anything that might be plot important I'll post it in a note section at the very beginning of chapter 30. It will be a lonely week but I think it'll be worth it. See you then duckies.)


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Frisk lifted the delicate china cup and sipped more of the spicy cinnamon tea Muffet had poured for them. The cup and teapot were painted with spiderwebs and spiders dancing amongst blue filigree. Frisk picked up the last half of their sandwich, Muffet had cut it into triangles for them, and ate it thoughtfully.

Muffet ate a slice of crab apple and poured herself more tea with her other hands. "It seems our sibling clan's bake sale is doing well then?" Muffet asked.

Frisk nodded. "Whimsuns really like doughnuts."

"I see~" Muffet smiled, "Do have some of ours~" she insisted, gesturing to two plates on the table piled high with spider doughnuts and spider croissants.

Chara recoiled at the thought. Frisk politely took a spider doughnut and bit into it.

Muffet leaned forward. The spiders hanging around them on silk threads quivered with anticipation.

"Well, dearie?" Muffet asked.

"Yummy." Frisk said.

The spiders cheered, swinging on their webs.

Muffet waved them quiet, "How does it compare to our siblings in the Ruins?"

Frisk took another bite and thought about it, "...I think..."

All the spiders held their breath.

"I think, the Ruins spiders use more spider cider but your isn't as gritty." Frisk smiled, "They're both nice."

"More spider cider~" Muffet mused, leaning back in her chair and looking at the plate of doughnuts critically. She picked up the tiny receipt Frisk had given them from the table and looked at it with a frown, "So cheap! How can they make a profit?"

"They sell a lot?" Frisk offered eating the last bite of their sandwich and picking up a slice of crab apple.

"Bulk sales rather than maximum profit~" she said to herself, drumming two sets of fingers on the table. "I suppose~ Fuhuhuhu~"

A spider slowly descended until it was level with her ear and told her something in a tiny skittery voice.

Muffet frowned and sighed, "Yes, I know dearies, you have said we should reduce the prices before~"

The small spider rubbed its front legs together and looked sad as it pulled itself back up toward the ceiling.

Frisk said, "I think they'd be really popular if people could afford them."

Muffet looked despondent.

" _If you were closer to the elevators you could sell to the monsters that commute to New Home for work._ " Chara offered.

"Thank you, dearie~" Muffet smiled, "You're very kind~ I have a lot of things to consider~"

There was a thump in the back of the room and the skittering of something large with many legs moving closer.

Frisk stiffened as Muffet's pet came over and nudged Muffet with a whine.

"You must be hungry~" She looked down and pet the large spider muffin fondly. "Ah, you haven't met my pet~" she said. She looked up and blinked at them in surprise, "Don't be afraid! They're really very sweet~" She smiled.

Under the table Frisk squeezed their hands together and tried to smile.

"Sometimes we accidentally put too much spider in our batter and this is what happens." Muffet explained solemnly, "We do our best to make sure they are happy."

Frisk looked at the spider muffin and slowly relaxed, "...oh. I didn't know." they said softly.

The spider muffin regarded them curiously and slowly skittered over to their side of the table.

"Be nice~" Muffet said.

Frisk swallowed hard and slowly reached out a trembling hand. The spider muffin bumped their fingers playfully. Frisk nervously patted them, they were spongy and smelled like brown sugar.

Muffet stood in one graceful movement, "Well, dearie, I must get back to work."

Frisk hurried to their feet, "Thank you for tea and everything else. I hope your bake sale sells a lot."

Muffet covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed, "Fuhuhuhu, you're such a sweetheart~ This was fun! Come visit again~" She waved to them and walked back out to her bake sale stand.

A spider descended and pointed Frisk towards the exit. Frisk thanked them and walked across the sticky floor and through the small low door that lead to the backstage of a movie set. The stage was bustling, crew members crossed from backstage to the filming area, props were prepared, the stage was check and rechecked, the trap door's hinges were oiled.

As they walked out, Frisk was spotted by the bear crew member who was carrying a large basket of flower petals towards their side of the stage.

"They're here!" The bear crew member said loudly, "Final prep!"

The aardvark monster ran over, clip on mic clutched in their small claws. Frisk bent over and let them clip it onto their collar. Two other monsters ran over with combs and bobby pins. They combed Frisk's hair, straightened their bow, smoothed their clothes, and rearranged their tutu.

 _I hope you're ready. This is really not my thing._

Frisk raised their eyebrows.

 _Hey,_ Chara said, offended, _melodrama and romance are one thing, musicals are another, and that thing, is not a thing I'm interested in._

Frisk said, "I've got it, I think."

"One minute!" The crew announced.

Frisk was preened over a few seconds longer before being shooed out onto the set. A purple castle at night with an ivy painted tower.

The houselights were dimmed and the stage lights came up in a flash of white.

"We're live in Five! Four!" the voice dropped to a whisper, "three-two and-!"

There was a beat of silence as the cameras hummed to life.

"OH?" Mettaton's voice came from above and behind them, "THAT HUMAN..."

Frisk turned and looked up as Mettaton peaked out of the small window above.

"COULD IT BE...?" he stepped out clad in a dress of blue and sheer lace that really accentuated his shoulders. "...MY ONE TRUE LOVE?" he clasped his hands together and hurried to the side, lifting his skirt to roll down a steep ramp on the side, as mournful music began to play.

He rolled over to them.

Frisk curtsied gravely and held out their hand.

Mettaton paused for only a second, then took their hand and carefully twirled them. The music rose and he sang, his voice high and tinny but pitch perfect, "OH MY LOVE, PLEASE RUN AWAY,"

He slowly moved around them in a circle and Frisk turned still holding his hand, "MONSTER KING, FORBIDS YOUR STAY," Mettaton raised one hand over his screen in distress. "HUMANS MUST, LIVE FAR APART," Frisk reached out as if to comfort him and he dramatically turned away clutching his hands together, "EVEN IF, IT BREAKS MY HEART." Pink flower petals began to fall as Mettaton put both hands to his monitor as if he wept.

Frisk shivered with nervousness, they looked Mettaton and tapped their chest, asked with their eyes. Mettaton nodded.

Frisk took a deep breath and as the next refrain started, they sang, "They'll put me in, a dungeon cell," They winced at the wobbliness of their voice and how small it sounded but continued doggedly, determination thrumming through them, "Though I have no sins, my death does knell."

Mettaton took the opportunity to spin and dance, occasionally flailing in despair.

Frisk sang on, "Don't weep for me, my dearest love," they opened their arms wide towards Mettaton, "Your heart, I am unworthy of."

Mettaton tugged them to his side so they were standing on top of the trapdoor. He patted their head gently.

The music swelled and ended, as did the swirling flower petals.

"SO SAD." Mettaton said, "SO SAD YOU ARE GOING TO THE DUNGEON." he rolled away from them and pulled a remote from his dress. His finger hovered over the button and he, hesitated. He looked at the remote and at Frisk, finger trembling.

Frisk gave Mettaton a slight nod. He pressed the button. The ground dropped out from under them.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, heart pounding waiting for the painful- The bounced onto something soft. As they opened their eyes, large hands scooped them up from the old mattress that had cushioned their fall, as four crew members picked up the mattress and rushed off stage out of sight. The bear monster sat them on their feet, brushed Frisk off and hurried after them.

Mettaton hovered down the trapdoor, arms behind his back. "OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?" He said mournfully, "MY LOVE HAS BEEN CAST AWAY IN THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR WILL SURLY PERISH!" the cameras panned over to show the beginning of a huge tile maze, "O, HEAVENS HAVE MERCY! THE HORRIBLE COLORED TILE MAZE! EACH TILE HAS IT'S OWN... HORRIBLE FUNCTION... FOR EXAMPLE, STEP ON A GREEN TILE AND A BELL WILL RING AND YOU'LL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER AND..." He hesitated again before going on reluctantly, "YOU'D BETTER HURRY. BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IN THIRTY SEC-IN A MINUTE," fire flared along on a moving bar to their left, "YOU'LL BE INCINERATED BY THESE JETS OF FIRE!"

Frisk stepped up to the edge of the conveyer belt.

"We can do it." Frisk said, " _We'll make Papyrus proud._ " Chara added. They both nodded, studying the puzzle ahead.

Mettaton continued, "MY POOR LOVE! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, GOOD LUCK, DARLING!"

 _It looks familiar..._ Chara mused.

A countdown timer descended and the music started again, faster and more urgent, Mettaton singing along as he hovered overhead.

Frisk ran down the conveyer belt and stepped on the first tile. "I don't remember what they do." Frisk said, looking around at the different colored tiles, "Chara? Chara! I don't-"

 _Oh. My. God..._ Chara laughed, _It's the same puzzle that's on the back of the cereal box! I've got this. Just do what I tell you Frisk._

Frisk nodded, anxiety drained away. They kept their eyes on the puzzle and followed Chara's brisk instructions. They didn't make a single misstep. There was a loud bell as they stepped off the last tile on onto the stone.

Frisk looked at up at Mettaton in wonder and then their face split into a huge grin, "We did it!" Frisk jumped excitedly, for a second forgetting they were on tv. Then they did remember, and turned to the cameras and waved, "We did it Pap!" They said excitedly.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Mettaton said, "AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE FLAMES WILL BE DEACTIVATED!"

Frisk turned back Mettaton.

"NO! MORE! FIRE!" He said like a game show host as the fire wall died out.

There was a long pause and Mettaton continued in a quieter, serious voice, "...BUT IT'S AS THEY PHRASE GOES. 'OUT OF THE FIRE AND INTO THE FRYING PAN' EVEN IF YOU MANAGE TO BEAT THE HEAT... YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND MY HOT METAL BODY!"

 _Ew._ Chara grimaced.

Mettaton continued, "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY-"

A phone rang shortly and Alphys came over the speakers, "Watch out! I'll save you! Flames deactivate!"

Mettaton sighed, "THE HUMAN FINISHED THE PUZZLE. I ALREADY TURNED OFF THE FLAMES. IN FACT," he said meaningfully, "I WAS ABOUT TO 'FIGHT' THE HUMAN."

"Wh-wh-at? TH-THAT puzzle?" Alphys said in disbelief, "….Uh, I mean, Great job! We've got him on the ropes, now!"

"ON THE ROPES? HA!" Mettaton scoffed, he would've rolled his eyes if he had any, "I ONLY DEACTIVATED THE FLAMES KNOWING THAT ALPHYS WOULD HAVE ANYWAY." He hung up and continued, "NOW, WHERE WERE WE? OH YES. I WAS GOING TO 'ERADICATE' YOU!"

He descended back onto his wheel, "THIS IS IT DARLING! SAY GOODBYE!"

Frisk phone rang. They reached into their pocket and turned it off.

Mettaton slowly lowered his arms and gave them a 'what are you doing?' look.

"I see," Frisk pulled their stick free from the sheath and pointed it at Mettaton, "I challenge you, Mettaton, to a fight."

"DARLING," Mettaton said patiently, "THAT, IS WHAT THIS IS."

"No!" Frisk stomped, "Not here! Not this playing pretend. A real fight! Your betrayal must be answered for."

"HMMM..." Mettaton thoughtfully rubbed where his chin might have been, "A GENTLEMAN NEVER TURNS DOWN A CHALLENGE. WHAT IS THE WAGER? A PROPER DUEL MUST HAVE A WAGER."

"My soul." Frisk said. "That's what you want, right?"

"MY, AND HOW DID YOU COME TO THAT CONCLUSION?" Mettaton asked, "I'VE NEVER BREATHED A WORD TO ANYONE."

" _It's not exactly original._ " Chara shrugged, "Tons of monster have tried to kill me." Frisk said.

"WELL, DARLING, I'M AFRAID I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE TO A HUMAN SOUL," Mettaton said, "I SUPPOSE I SHALL HAVE TO WAGER MY EMPIRE." he spread his arms, "MY HOTEL, RESTURANT, BROADCAST COMPANY, THE ENTIRE MTT BRAND WILL BE YOURS IF I LOSE."

Frisk frowned, "I don't want that junk. I'll name my own prize when I win."

Mettaton's screen changed from yellow to red, "WHEN? WHEN, DARLING? CALL MY EMPIRE JUNK?!" Mettaton said acidly, turning away from them, "IT SHALL BE SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT WHEN I CRUSH YOU AND TAKE MY RIGHTFUL PLACE AS A STAR." he said coldly, "I'LL SEE YOU IN THE CORE, HUMAN."

He blasted off and disappeared into the gloom above. It took a while for the stage lights to dim. The crew were looking at each other and coming together to groups to talk quietly.

The aardvark monster came up and held out their hand for the clip on microphone. Frisk gave it to them and they curled it tightly between both hands. "He said he was going to cancel the final fight." they said in a tiny voice, "He was. He said..."

"Robin." The bear crew member called out, "If the fight's back on we gotta go set up."

Robin looked up at them with small shining eyes, "We- none of us what to see you or the boss get hurt." They twisted their claws together said plaintively, "Please." and scamped off after the rest of the crew.

 _A challenge, huh? So, you figured out a way to make sure he couldn't back out of the fight._

Frisk nodded.

 _You're getting pretty good at making plans._

"Thank you." Frisk said primly.

They looked up at the looming bulk of MTT Resort ahead, strangely sleek and modern amongst all the exposed pipes and darkened metal of Hotland.

Frisk hurried inside the resort and practically ran to the cafe, patting the smooth, pale pink counter excitedly, "BP!"

The twitchy orange cat stared at them in dull incomprehension of their enthusiasm. Finally, he forced an awkward smile on his face, "Welcome to MTT-Brand Burger Emporium, home of the Glamburger." he intoned flatly, "Sparkle up your day tm."

"Starfait, please!" Frisk said, dropping a clatter of gold and pulled themselves onto one of the stools that lined the counter.

Burgerpants methodically scooped the coins from the counter, counted them out, one at a time, put them in the till, turned around and made a starfait with glacial speed, layer of ice cream, layer of strawberries, layer of ice cream, layer of blueberries and raspberries, layer of ice cream, his ice cream scoop hovered motionless for a moment and he sighed heavily, a curl of whipped cream on top, a slice of star fruit and a cookie in the shape of Mettaton. He slid the tall fluted glass in front of them, picked up a squeezy bottle, held it over the starfait and gave it a single anemic squeeze. A puff of silver glitter wafted down onto the sugary concoction.

Burgerpants took a deep breath and said with forced manic cheeriness, "Thanksy! Have a FABU-FUL day!"

Frisk held out their hand, "Spoon?"

He handed then a spoon and leaned over on the counter like a slowly deflating ballon.

"Thank you." Frisk picked the cookie off and used it to scoop up a dollop of whipped cream and bit it in half. Chara nibbled on the other half of the cookie, using the spoon to dig out some ice cream and crumbled the cookie onto it and ate it in one big bite.

Burgerpants stared blankly at the wall, every now and then the corner of his eye would twitch.

"Are you ok, Mr. BP?" Frisk asked.

His gaze slowly slid over to them, "I'll get in trouble if I get chummy with the customers. Sorry." He looked back at the wall, then suddenly stood up and moved really close to them, "SO, I wanted to be an ACTOR." He said in a shaky voice, "When I first came to Hotland, it was my dream to work with Mettaton... Well, be careful what you wish for, little buddy!" He twitched and fumbled in his pocket, he froze and glanced surreptitiously, once he was sure no one was around, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

Chara glared at him.

Frisk said, "Smoking is bad for you."

" _And we're like eight._ " Chara snapped.

Burgerpants ear's drooped and he slid the cigarettes back in his pocket. He looked at them nervously.

"I'm haunted." Frisk said taking a bite of ice cream. "They can be a bit-" Frisk shrugged.

Burgerpants twitched and grabbed the counter to keep his hands still, "Eight, huh? I'm getting on in years, so let me give you some advice, little buddy. You've still got time. Don't live like me. I'm nineteen years old and I've already wasted my entire life."

Frisk looked around at the small restaurant. It was cute, pink and silver, and quiet.

Chara swirled the berries with the ice cream, " _Doesn't seem that bad, whiner._ "

"God, have you even looked around?" he gestured helplessly, "This place is a labyrinth of bad choices." He twisted his hands together. He reached for his pocket and twitched his hands back, "And every time we try to change something for the better, he vetoes it and says, 'that's not how they do it on the surface.' Oh! Right!" He threw up his hands, "Humans are always eating hamburgers made of SEQUINS and GLUE." He started pacing back and forth, shaking his head, "Why do people find him so attractive? He's literally just a freaking rectangle." he stopped suddenly, staring at the opposite wall in inner torment, "…You know, one time, I bought one of those, uh, kits online... to... uh, make yourself more rectangular.…" his eye twitched, "They don't work."

Frisk covered their smile with their hand.

There was a long drawn out moment of awkward silence in which Burgerpants began to sweat.

" _I don't think that's what attracts people to him._ " Chara said, "... _It's probably because he's so confident._ " They scooped out a slice of strawberry and ice cream, " _I don't know why you're so fixated on attractiveness._ " they said as they took a bite.

Burgerpants froze, then unfroze and leaned on the counter right next to them, his eyes flicking back and forth nervously, "Listen. I like you, little buddy. So I'm gonna save you a lot of trouble." He raised a finger about an inch away from their face, "Never interact with attractive people. Unless you're 'one of them,' they're just gonna take advantage of you." He lowered the finger and slowly pushed himself back from the counter. He gazed soulfully off into the distance, "Like the time those two chicks asked me to sneak them some glamburgers. And I, naïve teenager that I was, said yes to them." He said grimly, "Bad Idea."

A wicked grin crept onto Chara's face and they leaned forward, " _What happened?_ "

Burgerpants hesitated but only for a second, before launching into his dramatic tale of woe, "So I went out to the alley to see those ladies, and uh... you know, see what'd happen next.…" He froze and his eyes twitched, "Then my boss, uh, saw me and asked me what I was doing. I was so startled, the hamburgers in my pockets tumbled out onto the ground." his hands spread and twitched with recollection, "Not wanting to lose face, I scrambled to pick them up! But as I was leaning over the weight of the remaining hamburgers..." The whole left side of his face twitched and curled into a grin of despair, "...caused my pants to fall down. Then the girls laughed at me." His voice dropped to a mutter, "Everyone calls me Burgerpants now."

"The vendors in the alley?" Frisk asked around a mouthful of fruit and ice cream, they didn't remember who had been in the alley.

"Huh?" Burgerpants broke out of his nightmare of past social death and said hurriedly, "Yeah, those two vendors in the back. The girls. NOT the Nice Cream Guy." He started pacing again, wringing his hands, "He keeps coming in here and asking me stuff like, 'Hey Burgy, what do you think of this joke for my next ice cream wrapper?' Joke? Why are you calling it a JOKE?" he gestured plaintively with his open hands, "You drew a picture of two dudes hugging and wrote 'I love hugs!' on it. You somehow understand comedy EVEN LESS than that guy who keeps going on stage and crying about his family."

The spoon fell from Chara's hand and clattered onto the counter.

Burgerpants grabbed a clean spoon and held it out to them, "Anyway, I , uh, just tell him that they're good, because he gives me the nice cream for free afterwards..." he waved the spoon.

Chara took it numbly and dropped it in the cup.

"Please don't." Frisk said without much conviction.

" _No. Freakin. Way._ " Chara shifted, kneeling on the stool and bracing their arms on the counter to lean forward, " _He LIKES you!_ "

"..." Burgerpants leaned back and shook his head, "Poor, naïve little buddy."

Chara slammed their hands down on the counter making Burgerpants jump, " _Naïve!?_ " they pointed at him menacingly, " _I've orchestrated two romances in the last week! I know romantic potential when I see it!_ "

Frisk sighed.

 _"Don't you see?_ " Chara clutched at the air with both hands, " _He called it a joke so if you said it was gross or weird he could laugh it off! UGH!_ " they pressed their hands to the counter, " _The wrapper said 'I love hugs'! With a picture of two guys hugging! If only you had said, 'me too'!_ "

Burgerpants said cooly, "You've been brainwashed, little buddy, attractive people are only nice to make you their slave. ..." he went quiet and looked down at the floor.

Chara climbed onto the counter and grabbed Burgerpants by the collar of his stupid uniform before he could react, " _What do you have to lose!? You're already a social reject in a job you hate, a job you could quit if you hated it that much,_ " Chara shook him," _Just-DO-Something!_ "

Frisk pushed Chara out of control and let go of Burgerpants, "...sorry." they squeaked, and hurriedly climbed off the counter and sat back on the stool and covered their face with both hands as it burned with embarrassment.

Burgerpants stood frozen in shock or trauma.

Frisk hissed, "Apologize, Chara."

 _No._

"Chara." Frisk said in a warning tone.

Chara sighed, " _I'm sorry for climbing on the counter and I'm sorry for shaking you, I'm NOT sorry for anything else._ " they said defiantly.

Frisk pressed the palms of their hands against their eyes.

"Haunted, huh?" was all Burgerpants said.

Frisk nodded, "And they're such a butt!"

 _You're a butt._ Chara muttered.

Burgerpants braced his hands on the counter and looked down at his shoes, "...Sorry, little buddy, I've got a lot to think about so, if you're done...?"

Frisk quickly slid off the stool and headed for the door.

 _I want to say something._

Frisk narrowed their eyes.

 _Nothing bad, I swear!_ Chara promised.

Frisk took their hand off the door.

" _You're really funny and expressive._ " Chara said, " _Even if you can't act with Mettaton you could still act. There's an open mic show every week, you could turn that burgerpants story into a one monster show or try comedy... I think you could be a really good character actor._ "

Frisk relaxed and said encouragingly, "You should keep trying. You've still got a ton of time. You haven't wasted you life."

" _The only time you've wasted your life is when you're dead._ " Chara added.

"Really?" Frisk muttered under their breath.

Burgerpants smiled awkwardly, "Thanks, little buddy."

(a/n: The next chapter will be up this saturday, the 30th.

Turns out, after spending a week editing the start of this story far too intensively all I can see now are mistakes and am having a hard time seeing my writing objectively so if it sucks, please tell me because I can't tell anymore. Le sigh. I didn't even get very far with editing, so much self-directed-disappointment. I'm so happy to be writing again though, so there's that.

All major rewrites done last week:end of chapter 6, chara and frisk's first convo, to make something clearer, hopefully.

end of chapter 8, the dream/nightmare, to better express what happened from Chara's pov. And a bit later San's dialogue reworked to show a little more emotional distance.)


	31. Chapter 31

(a/n: I have been told by some that they look forward to my chapters because it is cute and fluffy and makes their day happier, this message is to those people. The next part of the story will be emotionally difficult, there will still be some fluff as things go on but not as much, not as often. So, if you're one of those people who are strongly effected by what they read, good or bad, please make sure you're in a good place before reading. Sorry and Thank you.)

Chapter 31

Frisk sighed as the MTT Cafe door swung shut behind them.

 _That was fun._

Frisk sighed again.

They turned and walked back out of the hotel, ignoring Chara plaintive begging to go visit the Nice Cream Guy and went around to the dark narrow alley where Bratty and Catty had their stall set up between the resort and the natural stone of the cavern.

The two girls perked up as Frisk walked up.

"Hey! Check it out!" Bratty said, at the same time as,

Catty said, "Yeah! Check it out!"

Frisk politely looked over their wares. Their eyes spied the small pink metal key on the end of the table. They ignored it and smiled and asked the two their names.

Catty said, "I'm Catty, and this is my best friend, Bratty," at the same time,

Bratty said, "I'm Bratty, and this is my best friend, Catty," And both broke into giggles.

"I'm Frisk." Frisk said, "It's nice to meet you."

Catty and Bratty looked at each other and then at Frisk.

"Oh my god. Alphys!" Catty said as Bratty said,

"Oh my god, Alphys!" They tittered, Bratty continued, "We just saw her yesterday!"

"It's been, forever!" Catty said, "Then she just showed up!"

Bratty rested her elbows on the table, "She talked about you for-"

"-ever!" Catty said, "Like you're her new best friend."

Bratty looked at Catty questioningly "Well, you and some other kid name Cara?"

" _Chara, my name is Chara._ " Chara said, raising an eyebrow. " _And I'm right here, haunting Frisk's soul, and being a spectacular pain in butt. That's just a side hobby though._ "

Frisk sighed.

"Weird." Bratty said, as Catty said, "COOL!" They looked at each other and Catty giggled.

"You know Alphyee?" Frisk asked.

"ALPHYEE?!" Catty and Bratty squealed, "How CUTE!"

Bratty said, "She used to live on our street."

"She was like a big sister." Catty added.

Bratty rolled her eyes, "I mean, like, if your big sister-"

"Takes you on trips to the dump." Catty giggled.

"She showed us the coolest places to find trash." Bratty continued.

Catty narrowed her eyes, "She was always collecting all these weird cartoons."

Bratty said, "Then she became the royal scientist and dropped off the face of the earth."

"Oh my god," Catty leaned forward, "Alphys said she's dating the Royal Guard Captain?"

Frisk nodded, ignoring Chara's surge of pride.

"Oh WOW." Bratty said, leaning forward, "Undyne is SO cool."

"SO out of her league!" Catty said.

"Catty!" Bratty scolded. Then they both giggled.

Frisk reached out and touched the pink key. Bratty and Catty quit giggling and leaned forward, "That's quite the find." Bratty said encouragingly.

"Very mysterious." Catty said.

"I know who this key belongs to." Frisk said and looked at up at the two through their hair pleadingly, "...I'd like to give it back to them."

Bratty and Catty looked at one another. Catty nudged Bratty with her elbow. Bratty glared at her and nudged her back sharply then smiled broadly at Frisk, "We just put that on sale! Fifteen-"

"Ten gold!" Catty cut in.

Frisk pulled the coins out of their phone storage and placed them carefully on the counter.

Catty handed them the key. "It was cool meeting you kids!"

"We were just going to pack up before we showed up." Bratty said, "Mettaton is doing a tv special."

"We're recording it." Bratty said.

"Like we always do!" Catty said.

Bratty continued, "But everybody's talking about it!"

"We HAVE to watch the finale live!" Catty said.

Frisk smiled nervously and nodded, "Um, see you later, then."

Bratty and Catty enthusiastically waved to them as they walked back out of the ally.

 _All that's left is the final battle, huh?_

"And everybody's gonna be watching." Frisk said anxiously.

 _Do you think Papyrus saw us do the musical?_ Chara asked.

Frisk slid the key in their pocket and touched the edges of their phone in their pocket absently, then pulled it out and called him.

It had barely started its second ring when Papyrus picked up, "HELLO, FRISK! DO YOU MISS ME ALREADY? I KNOW, I AM VERY DASHING." His voice sounded a little distant and echoed faintly over the phone's speaker. "I MISS MYSELF ALL THE TIME! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk giggled, "I missed you."

" _Did you see us do the puzzle?_ " Chara asked, " _It was a colored tile puzzle, like you showed us when we first came._ "

"YES!" There was a loud clatter of cooking utensils, "THAT WAS SOME TRULY AMAZING PUZZLE PASSIONEERING. I THINK THAT PUZZLE MIGHT HAVE EVEN BEEN TRICKY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT ONLY SLIGHTLY!"

"What are you making for the party?" Frisk asked with a smile.

"WELL," Papyrus paused as he counted, "A SALAD, BROCCOLI RABE, GARLIC BREAD, AND FOR THE MAIN COURSE, LASAGNA! DESSERT IS A SURPRISE."

" _Is it chocolate?_ " Chara asked, _"I hope it's chocolate._ "

"A SURPRISE IS A SURPRISE!" Papyrus said cheerfully, "YOU'RE HEADING FOR THE GRAND FINALE?"

"Uhuh." Frisk nodded, "I'm... kinda nervous." they admitted.

Papyrus said, "THAT'S OK! EVERYONE GETS NERVOUS SOMETIMES."

"Even you?" Frisk asked, absently kicking a rock on the path.

There was a long thoughtful silence before Papyrus said, "YES, EVEN ME. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW IT BECAUSE OF HOW AMAZING I AM, BUT I WAS VERY NERVOUS WHEN WE FIRST MET! BUT EVEN IF YOU ARE NERVOUS I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO FRISK."

Frisk giggled with relief "I feel better now. Thanks, Pap." they said as they walked back through the resort and pushed the door on the other side leading to the core. The area was strangely calming with the muted music of the resort filtering in and mixing with the deep and steady hum of the Core that lay just beyond.

"I LOOK FORWARD TO WATCHING YOU. SOON THE WHOLE UNDERGROUND WILL KNOW HOW WONDERFUL-" Papyrus paused and the phone clattered as he picked it up and took it off speaker, "SOMEONE IS AT THE DOOR, THE FIRST GUEST HAS ARRIVED! MAKE SURE TO BRING UNDYNE AND ALPHYS AFTER YOU ARE DONE AND ANY OTHER FRIENDS YOU MEET!"

"Ok!" Frisk said, "I'll be back soon."

"I'M ROOTING FOR YOU!" He said exuberantly before hanging up.

 _Ready?_ Chara asked.

Frisk nodded and walked down the path and into the core; the humming, pulsing machine of blue metal that almost seemed to be alive, each pulse of the lights like a breath, the electrical designs etched into the metal like veins beneath skin.

They were about to put their phone away when it rang again, Alphys this time.

"I watched-" She said softly, " I saw- Do you, are really going to fight Mettaton?" She asked anxiously.

"Yeah." Frisk said. "I won't hurt him."

"But! I mean-!" She paused, swallowed hard, "You say that but- I just- I just don't want either of you to get hurt..."

"It'll be ok, Alphyee." Frisk said, they reached up and touched the elevator button. It chimed softly and the door opened. Frisk bounced with silent excitement, they wouldn't have to go through the Core this time! They stepped inside and pressed the only button, up.

"What i-if he really is after your soul?" She lamented. "Maybe, I should call him..."

Frisk stiffened, "Please don't. Please Alphys. It will be ok, I promise. I _promise_." they insisted.

There was a long, agonized silence.

The elevator doors slid open and Frisk stepped out. Robin and the prep team were waiting for them.

"I-" Alphys said, "I'm sorry. I should trust you. I do, I do t-trust you. Just-" she paused and her voice became very small, "just be careful."

"I will." Frisk said.

"I- ok...bye." She hung up.

Frisk put their phone in their pocket and knelt down to let Robin put the microphone on their collar. The prep team fixed their hair and bow. Frisk looked down at themselves and brushed their fingers over the faded pink tulle tutu. Slowly, they slid it off and put it away in their phone storage, the didn't want to risk getting it damaged.

Robin whispered in their walkie talkie and then turned to Frisk as the prep hurried off, "They're ready for you. There will be four cameras on all sides of you, it will be a live broadcast, n-no delay. Mettaton insisted." their voice became tiny as they looked down at their feet, "G-good luck." They stammered and hurried into the next room.

Frisk looked up at the tall door, framed in red lights and toped by a strange design that reminded them of a one eyed bird. They took a deep breath and stepped into the long darkness.

There was very little light inside. Mettaton stood in the center of the way, his screen a dim and ominous red. "THERE YOU ARE, DARLING." he said surprisingly softly, "IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. TIME TO FINALLY SETTLE THIS."

Frisk clenched and unclenched their hands rhythmically in the humming silence.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALPHYS TOLD YOU BUT SHE'S USING YOU." He said coldly, "ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME. SHE JUST WANTED TO BE A PART OF YOUR STORY. TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOU LIFE. SHE REACTIVATED THE PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED THE ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TOY WITH YOU. ALL SO SHE COULD HELP YOU AND BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND... SHE'S NOT."

Frisk resisted the urge to pull their stick free, forced themselves to stay still and listen to Mettaton's angry monologue.

Mettaton continued, "I _WAS_ GOING TO CANCEL THIS FIGHT. I _WAS_ BECOMING FOND OF YOU. UNTIL YOU CALLED EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WORKED FOR TRASH. UNTIL THEN," His screen color seemed to get deeper, darker, pulling in the shadows all around them. "I HAD NO DESIRE TO HURT YOU. FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW DOESN'T IT? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW WITHOUT A LITTLE TENSION?" He waved his hand and behind them the door locked with a loud click.

The platform they were standing on lit up, lined with red LEDs, circles of color appeared beneath their feet.

The normal M on the Mettaton's screen came on and he waved cheerily, "SORRY, FOLKS!" he said into his microphone, "THE OLD PROGRAMS BEEN CANCELED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!"

The platform shuddered and Frisk stumbled, almost falling as it suddenly began to rise up with startling speed.

"REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED!" Mettaton cried dramatically, as spot lights came up and the cameras came up around them. "ON OUR NEW SHOW..." he reached out and pulled their soul into battle with such force Frisk gasped, " 'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!'"

Frisk pulled their stick out and set their feet.

"LISTEN DARLING, I'VE SEEN YOU FIGHT." Mettaton scoffed, "YOU'RE _WEAK_. IF YOU CONTINUED FORWARD, ASGORE WOULD JUST TAKE YOUR SOUL. AND IF HE HAD THAT SOUL HE WOULD JUST DESTROY HUMANITY."

He waved his hand and the air began to prickle. The hair on the back of Frisk's neck stood on end. Boxes, like wire frameworks but made of solid magic and magical electricity formed around him and he sent them at Frisk in a stream. Frisk easily stepped around them, barely having to move to dodge them.

"SO INSTEAD, I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL!" Mettaton said cheerfully, "I'LL SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION! THEN USING YOUR SOUL, I'LL CROSS THE BARRIER AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING. HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS.. NO! MILLIONS OF HUMANS WILL WATCH ME!"

Three rows of boxes formed, linked together like scaffolding and sped towards Frisk. The first two had obvious weaknesses, places where the boxes hadn't been connected to the rest and they broke those boxes with an easy swing, ducking into the gap left. The last scaffold had no obvious weakness, though the magical electricity was clumped in one spot, Frisk just ducked under the bar and let it pass harmlessly overhead.

"GLITZ! GLAMOUR! I'LL FINALLY HAVE IT ALL! SO WHAT IS A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!" Mettaton said, forming another set of scaffolding, all without weak points and at varying heights this time, squeezed too tightly together for Frisk to dodge.

Frisk grinned and darted forward, making a silver teleport point and then backed away. They stepped back as the bars approached until the heel of their shoe came out over empty air.

Frisk sucked in a shocked gasp as they felt themselves begin to fall backwards. Mettaton leaned forward. Frisk heard Robin's quiet voice squeak in alarm. They fell back and watched as the scaffolding passed over them and dissolved back into energy. The platform began to disappear as they fell down into darkness.

 _IhateyouIhateyouIhate-!_

Frisk giggled and with a swell of determination they pulled themselves back up to the teleport point. Their were gasps from all around them in the darkness. Frisk spun around and walked up behind Mettaton, who was peering over the edge of the stage into the darkness. They reached out-

"MY, THAT WAS ANTICLIMACTIC-"

-and flipped the large switch on Mettaton's back.

Mettaton spun around, only rigid shock kept him from wheeling backwards into open air. From inside Mettaton came the sounds of whirring motors and shifting metal.

He gathered himself and moved back to center stage, "Did you. just flip. my switch?" He aksed, his screen began to flash and the dials on his front began to spin wildly. The motor sounds became louder, as Mettaton pressed his hands to the side of his monitor. He wobbled on his wheel and rolled erratically towards the center of the stage. Frisk carefully backed out of his way.

There was a blinding flash of light and a grating clank and a voice, smooth and deep with only the slightest machine reverberation said, "Ohhhhh yes!"

Frisk blinked the stars from their eyes and through the stage lights and smoke they could make out a person shaped silhouette.

"Ohhh my." Mettaton said languidly, "If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude..." he scolded, "Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So..."

The smoke began to fade and Frisk could make out the shine of silver and pink accenting black.

"as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments..." the last of the smoke dissipated, showing Mettaton's new body, human in shape with long legs, sharp shoulders, a handsome face and black hair that covered his right eye. His soul blazed in the middle of his waist, pink and the same way up as a humans, "ABSOLUTELY beautiful!" he declared.

With the change in the light, Frisk could make out a screen behind Mettaton showing a simple graph read out of how many viewers were watching, it was already at 4274, much higher than it had been the last time they had fought him. Frisk smiled triumphantly.

They faced Mettaton and pointed at him with their stick, "Bring it on! You won't even be able to touch me!"

Mettaton smiled but his eyes gleamed dangerously, "Lights! Camera! ACTION!" He spun toward them, sweeping his legs out and up. "Drama! Romance! Bloodshed!"

Frisk let Chara take control and they ducked and dodged around the kicks, jumping back and away from the robot's long legs.

"Got you!" He darted in front of them and kicked up.

No way. Frisk said tightly, and pulled them back to the teleport point in the center of the stage.

Mettaton spun back toward them.

Chara rested the stick on their shoulder and smirked, " _It that all you've got?_ "

The ratings shot up.

Frisk took the opportunity to refresh the save point.

Mettaton glared at them and posed, pointing at the ceiling and lifting one leg, "I'm the idol that everyone craves." he said cooly. He dropped his arm and spun. Around him arose a cloud of miniature box Mettatons and a little bombs that began to swarm in their direction.

Chara hopped back to the edge of the stage and readied their stick. Frisk made a second saved place. As the Mini Mettas drew near they released a stream of magical energy shaped like little red hearts. Chara brushed the attacks away easily with the stick, carefully avoiding the bombs and whacking as many of the Mini Metta's as they could with their stick. The little boxes shattered into crumpled heaps of metal and circuit boards. As the survivors flew out of sight Chara kicked a smashed one off the edge.

Try to get to the other sides, Frisk told Chara, so I can make save places all around the stage.

Chara nodded and circled to the right, Mettaton turned to watch them move.

Here, Frisk said. They pulled up more determination and pinned the point down.

Chara stopped and posed, throwing their head back dramatically and putting one hand on their hip and swinging the stick up elegantly in a easy arc, to point at Mettaton.

He smiled acidly, "Smile for the camera, darling." Mettaton posed and boxes rose around them, forming neat rows and rushing Chara. Chara swatted the boxes away easily. Mettaton leapt, swinging his heel down over their head.

Frisk pulled them to the center point.

Wait, they instructed Chara, pumping more determination in to the save so that it wouldn't fade, Now to the other side, they told them.

Mettaton sent another wave of boxes. Chara dodged between them and under them, knocking them away whenever thay was easiest, until they reached the other side and Frisk was able to put down another save place.

They smiled and said softly to themselves, "Four save places. Whenever we use one, try to stay there if possible so I can sink more determination in them."

" _How long will they last otherwise?_ " Chara asked, weaving through the last of the boxes, back toward the center of the stage.

"Three, maybe four teleports but don't count on it." Frisk said softly and posed, mimicking Mettaton by lifting one leg and covering their eyes.

"Ooh! It's time for a pop quiz!" Mettaton said, "I hope you brought your keyboard... This one's an essay question!"

A keyboard lowered from the ceiling on thin metal cables, the rating screen went black for a second then show in bold white type: ESSAY PROMPT: What do you love most about Mettaton?

Chara stepped up the keyboard and carefully typed; legs so hot you can fry an egg. And snickered. Frisk looked at the 'essay', shrugged and gave Mettaton a cheeky wink.

Mettaton raised an eyebrow and smirked appreciatively, "Your essay really shows your heart. Why don't I show you mine."

His soul shone and floated out of it holding container, losing it's pink color and showing it to be white, like most monster souls, but still flipped upright like a humans.

Frisk closed their eyes just in time, to sense the streams of electrical magic energy pourin goff his soul, arcing and lancing across the stage. They dodged between the bursts of power. A stream of Mini Mettas swarmed down to make their life doubly more difficult and threw a stream of heart projectiles at them. Chara swung their stick through the hearts, dissipating them into puffs of raw magic. The tip of the stick hit a ball of electricity and sent a charge through it and up their arm, making it tingle and buzz uncomfortably. Chara tossed the stick to their other hand, shaking out their arm and flexing their hand until the strange feeling faded.

Mettaton pulled his soul back in his body and pointed at them, "Ooh! I'm just getting warming up!"

" _I should hope so._ " Chara said, "You haven't even touched us yet." Frisk said and gestured to their red, glowing, _unharmed_ soul.

Mettaton glared at them briefly then smiled a bright and glowing smile, "But how are you on the dance floor?" he asked and did a little spin, and a few dance moves straight out of the movies as a large disco ball descended from the ceiling, but instead of mirrors, some of the facets of the disco ball had lasers.

" _This could be tricky_." Chara mused, their stick couldn't reach the disco ball to change the laser's color. " _This is all you, Frisk. Ready?_ " they asked.

Frisk nodded and as the lights lit up, blue first, they moved ahead of them to the furtherest point on the rotation. They held still as the first three blue lasers passed over them, prickling across their soul as they passed. The first white beam approached and Frisk watched it warily until to was so close they could sense the cutting sharpness and teleported to the next save place, freezing as a blue laser passed through them.

"Can you keep up the pace?" Mettaton asked, doing a high kick, dropping down into a split.

The disco ball sped up. They teleported through the white lasers and moved with them until they had to teleport again.

Mettaton laughed at them.

Frisk glared at him.

"Lights! Cameras! BOMBS!" Mettaton flourished and two walls dropped on either side of them, blocking them in with only room for a box and a bomb in the lane, moving towards them at high speed.

Frisk giggled and teleported outside the lane. Mettaton crossed his arms over his chest and glared at them.

"Can't you do better than that? Meh," Frisk stuck out their tongue.

"Maybe, IF someone, would play by the rules." Mettaton said snidely.

Frisk mimicked his pose, crossing their arms, "Rules? In a fight the to the death?" they said in an obnoxious imitation of his tone.

The lane walls were lifted back up out of sight.

Mettaton dropped his arms and sighed dramatically, "Time for our union regulated break!" He clapped his hands absently. A crew member rushed out with a tall stool, which he elegantly leaned back against, another rushed out with a fancy tea cup and saucer, tea already prepared to his liking, with the strange translucency of ghost food. He took the cup and sipped, eyes upturned towards the stage lights; apparently completely uninterested in them.

Frisk glanced around and took the opportunity to reenforce their teleport points. As they were finishing, Robin hesitantly came out, a blue mug in their tiny claws, chipped and missing most of the humorous design that had originally been printed on it. They held it out to Frisk shyly.

"Thank you very much." Frisk said as they took the mug. It was a very sweet and milky tea, they drank it gratefully. They handed the empty mug back and wiped the sweat from their forehead and stretched while they waited.

There was a pleasant chime and Mettaton stood, passing the cup and saucer off as the stool was quickly removed from the stage. He touched his hair and carefully tried to coax it into a more pleasing shape with a subtle nervousness of someone who, for the first time, had hair.

A second chime followed the first and Mettaton straightened, sliding a hand along his thigh and gesturing elegantly with the other hand, "We've grown so distant, darling..." he smiled wickedly, "How about another heart-to-heart?"

He brought his soul out again, this time surrounding it with his framework blocks which he would periodically shoot out in their direction. Frisk left it to Chara to dodge the mess of blocks and electricity. They didn't bother attacking his soul this time either, but as Mettaton's attacks ran out of steam his arms made a strange whir and clunk noise and detached, falling to the ground with a clatter.

Frisk stared in shock. They had been hoping to avoid hurting Mettaton in this fight.

Mettaton tried to act like it didn't affect him, tried to scoff while his voice box faded in and out as he spoke, "A...arms? Wh...who needs arms with legs like these? I'm still going to win!"

He sent a wave of boxes and bombs, arranged in lines that moved towards Frisk so quickly they had to teleport backwards to avoid being hit. Chara broke through the boxes as they passed.

They're coming back! Frisk warning, as the lines suddenly reversed course and began moving back towards Mettaton. Chara glanced over their shoulder as they dodged through the gaps they had made before.

"Come on!" Mettaton snapped and sent the lines back at them, stronger and faster.

Chara's brow furrowed as they glanced at Mettaton in concern.

"The show..." His voice cut out and his knees trembled, "must go on!" He posed and flashed a brilliant smile.

He kept attacking, sending more boxes, more Mini Metta's, more bombs and with every pass that Frisk and Chara managed to get through unharmed he simply sent more, faster.

"Dr...drama! A...Action!" He tried to step forward but his leg almost gave out under him, his eyes were dim and flickered, "L...Lights... C...Camera..." He drew himself up and for a second his eyes flashed back to life, "Enough of this! Do you really want humanity to perish?!" He stepped forward, a faint alarm began to sound from Mettaton's speaker, a persistent beep of warning. He continued doggedly, "...or do you believe in yourself that much?" The air began to prickle with magic as he began to summon an attack.

Frisk wanted to say something to stop him, to help him but the only word that came to their mouth was Robin's, "Please." they said plaintively.

"HaHa, how inspiring!" Mettaton laughed and smiled with all the confidence in the world, "Well, darling! It's either you or me! But I think we both already know who's going to win. Witness the true power of humanities star!"

His soul pulsed and the room filled with the prickle of magical electricity. Two bombs manifested around his soul as emerged from its case. Electricity discharged from his soul in arcing jumping lines and Mettaton spun at them, smashing his leg down at their head. Frisk teleported them away. Mettaton jaw creaked as his clenched his teeth and he ran at them. Chara lifted their stick, jumping to the side to avoid an arc of electricity, they held both ends of the stick as Mettaton kicked and caught his leg but stumbled back from the force. Electricity shot through them and Chara twitched and let out a hiss of pain.

Mettaton shifted his weight forward on his other leg and lurched towards them bringing up his knee and ramming into their side with all the force of his momentum.

Chara flew back with a cry, Frisk shuddered with shared pain.

Mettaton's eyes flashed. He clumsily regained his feet and ran at them, desperation on his face as the beeping alarms got louder and louder and louder-

Frisk teleported them to the other side of the stage. Chara gripped the stick tightly, using it to hold themselves up as they anticipated the next attack.

Mettaton turned and, his whole body shuddered, he took one shaky step forward, then another, then stopped. There was a pair of grating clanks and hiss. He wobbled, dropped to his knees and slowly slid off his disengaged legs. His face dimmed and his soul returned to his body. His face twitched as he closed his eyes and squeezed them tight, pressing his mouth into a tight line as he turned his face to the floor.

Chara slid down onto their knees and gingerly pressed their hand against their aching side.

A bell chimed overhead and Mettaton slowly turned his head to look up at the ratings screen. It showed well over ten thousand viewers.

He looked at the numbers in shock and wonder, a huge smile creeping onto his face, "OOH LOOK AT THESE RATINGS!" He said, his smooth, modulated voice replaced by the tinny, robotic voice, "THIS IS THE MOST VIEWERS I'VE EVER HAD! WE'VE REACHED THE VIEWER CALL-IN MILESTONE!" He looked at Frisk, glowing with happiness, "ONE LUCKY VIEWER WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO ME," he hesitated only briefly, before plowing forward with all the confidence in the world, "BEFORE I LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND FOREVER! LET'S SEE WHO CALLS IN FIRST!"

A phone ringing sound played loudly overhead.

"HI! YOU'RE ON TV!" Mettaton said cheerfully, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THIS, OUR LAST SHOW?"

There was a long nervous pause before Napstablook's tiny voice answered, "...oh... ...hi... mettaton..."

Mettaton's eyes widened and his mouth opened but he couldn't seem to form words.

Blook's voice began to shake, "...i really liked watching you show...my life is pretty boring... but... seeing you on the screen... brought excitement to my life... vicariously. i can't tell, but... i guess this is the last episode...?" Blook sounded like they were crying, "i'll miss you...mettaton...oh...i didn't mean to talk so long...oh..." And the line went dead.

"NO WAIT!" Mettaton blurted out, panic lacing his voice, "WAIT, BL-..." His voice broke off and he tried to continue, "...H-" but didn't have the words. He did his best to pretend it didn't affect him, and went on as if nothing had happened, "...THEY ALREADY HUNG UP. ...I'LL TAKE ANOTHER CALLER!"

The calls flooded in,one after another. Each and every one filled with love and praise for Mettaton.

Mettaton's face crumpled with tears he didn't have, "AH... I... I SEE...EVERYONE... THANK YOU SO MUCH." He told Frisk with downcast eyes, "...DARLING. PERHAPS IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF I STAY HERE FOR A WHILE. HUMANS ALREADY HAVE STARS AND IDOLS...BUT MONSTERS, THEY ONLY HAVE ME. IF I LEFT...THE UNDERGROUND WOULD LOSE ITS SPARK. I'D LEAVE AN ACHING VOID THAT CAN NEVER BE FILLED." He smiled weakly.

Frisk could hear him winding down, as more and more processes went offline. They walked over to him and knelt.

"SO... I THINK I'LL HAVE TO DELAY MY BIG DEBUT. BESIDES. YOU'VE PROVEN TO BE VERY STRONG. YOU HAVE WON."

Frisk rummaged around in their pocket curled their hand around the key. They pulled it out and held it out in front of Mettaton, "This is what I want." They said softly, "Go back, talk to Blook. They miss you."

"WOULDN'T YOU RATHER HAVE ANYTHING ELSE?" he asked.

Frisk shook their head.

"I PROMISED I WOULD NEVER LEAVE THEM." Mettaton said mournfully, "AND THEN I LEFT WITHOUT A WORD."

"It'll be ok." Frisk said, "If anyone can do it, it'd be you Mettaton."

"OF COURSE, DARLING!" He smiled brightly but it quickly faded, "IN A FEW MOMENTS, I'LL RUN OUT OF BATTERY POWER, AND... WELL. I'LL BE ALRIGHT." His voice began to fade as he spoke and his eyes began to dim, "KNOCK 'EM DEAD DARLING. AND EVERYONE... THANK YOU. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE!" His face went slack and he went still. The only light left was the gentle glow of his soul.

The stage lights dimmed and the regular lights came on. Behind them, they heard the door unlock.

Frisk pinned that place, saving it in space and time, with a sigh of relief. They had done it.

Alphys rushed up as Frisk turned, Undyne was right behind her, her face split into a huge grin as she saw Frisk.

"You did it, punks!" Undyne said, picking them up and gave them a bone crushing hug.

Alphys was studying Mettaton carefully, "We were watching e-everything on my phone outside." she said, "I t-told him not to push it so hard! His body's not even finished, i-it's not even a prototype yet!" She sighed. "I'm g-glad everything turned out ok."

The crew all around them peered around the cameras at Mettaton in concern.

Alphys waved her hand dismissively, "He's fine. His batteries just died. I designed the limbs to disengage to conserve energy in emergency situations. When it get's that bad, he's supposed to stop!" She tutted, "Well, they reattach e-easily."

"What now?" Undyne asked putting her hands on her hips.

"I'd like to take him down to my lab." Alphys said, "Between the broadcasts, I've b-been preparing to finish his body... I wanted to surprise him." She reassured Frisk, "I-it won't take long, and it's on the way. Once he's charged he can come with us to Papyrus' p-p-party." Her tail curled anxiously at the thought but she smiled bravely.

Undyne shrugged and picked up Mettaton's torso with one arm and his legs with the other. "Let's get a move on then. The sooner we get out of this heat, the better."

"R-Right!" Alphys hurriedly picked up an arm, and Frisk picked up the other one and they went to the elevators, taking them down to Alphys lab. They loaded all the pieces onto her worktable. Frisk stood back as Alphys got to work, occasionally asking Undyne to hold something or push something into place.

Frisk's phone rang and they pulled it out of their pocket, expecting Papyrus' name on the readout, but it was Sans. Frisk hesitantly held the phone up to their ear, "...hello?" they asked quietly.

"is papyrus there?" sans asked.

"What?" Frisk asked in confusion. "Why-"

" **is papyrus there?** " he repeated impatiently, his voice cold and angry.

"no!" Frisk squeaked, "What's happened?" they tried to ask, but Sans had already hung up.

A cold shiver slunk down Frisk's spine.

 _I have a bad feeling..._ Chara said softly.

Frisk nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna go ahead." they told Alphys and Undyne, "Come when you're done?"

Alphys paused in reattaching Mettaton's other leg and gave Frisk a quick look and smile.

"A-alright." Alphys said.

Undyne gave them a nod. "We'll be right behind you."

They put the pink key on the edge of the work table and told Alphys to give it to Mettaton once he was up and running again, then rode the conveyer belt out of the back room. Frisk left the lab at a normal pace but once they were outside they ran for the ferry as fast as they could. They hopped on, grabbing the stern for balance, "Snowdin! Hurry, please!"

The River Person nodded gravely and said, "Hold on, tralala."

Frisk held on tight as the boat pushed off from the shore and began going down the river. It started at a normal pace but quickly began moving faster and faster. Frisk looked down, and thought they could make out little feet, made of wood, running across the surface of the water. The front of the boat, normally just a piece of wood now remarkably looked like an annoying little dog.

They reached Snowdin in half the normal time, hopped off the boat with a quick thank you and hurried down the street. Everything seemed normal and they began to relax, until reached the house. The door was wide open.

Frisk ran inside, "Pap?!" they called, looking around. "PAP?!" The tv was still on, showing color bars, the table had been set. Frisk went into the kitchen where all the food was prepared and being kept warm, lasagna in the oven, rabe on the stove, and, a small chocolate cake cooling on a rack.

 _We have to find him._ Chara's voice had a tremble on its edges, _Maybe he's outside, maybe we just missed him._

Frisk ran back outside and stopped, looking down at the snow. A light dusting of the fine crystals this place called snow had fallen the night before and Frisk tried to study the tracks and make out if any of them looked fresh or familiar. Close to the side of the house they spotted a strange little hole in the snow that looked gut wrenchingly familiar.

Trying not to panic but feeling it well up in their stomach like acid anyway they ran in that direction, towards the mist of the Waterfall border.

Frisk called as they ran, "Pap?!"

There was no answer. The mist made it hard to see.

"Pap?!" they cupped their hands around their mouth, "PAP?!"

 _Maybe he just went to the store to buy something for the party?_ Chara asked hopefully.

Frisk nodded and headed back towards town. Something bounced off the toe of their shoe. They looked down.

It was Papyrus' armor.

Frisk knelt down and moved the chest piece aside, his gloves, his boots, and all of it was coated with a fine, gritty white dust.

 _Oh god,_ Chara breathed, their voice shaking like a leaf, _no, no...not him, please not him_

Frisk's heart was pounding so hard it hurt. Their hands were shaking but they felt strangely numb. They walked around the area slowly, eyes trained on the ground until they found lines in the snow like vines, pit marks like thorns.

As they slowly walked back to the pile, they saw another set of footprint, all too familiar as of late, the scuffed tread of slippers. They followed the slippers tracks, they lead them back to the back of the house, to Sans' lab. The door was unlocked, left slightly ajar.

Frisk pushed the door open with trembling hands and went in. The lights were on, flicking gently, and Sans was there. He was sitting on his chair, hunched over the counter, writing, his pen moving as quickly as he could manage, skittering and slipping across the paper. He must have heard them but he didn't look up. He didn't even glance at them.

The room felt strange, set their teeth on edge. A familiar sort of strange that seemed to merge with the ache in Frisk's guts.

They didn't known why they had come here at first but now they knew. They had been hoping, however faintly, however stupidly, that they could ask Sans for help.

But he wouldn't help them.

Frisk would have to do it themselves, just as they had always done.

(a/n: The next update will be Saturday, May 7th.

I hope I can do this story justice. We're finally approaching the end and I'm so very nervous. Granted with the way I tend to drag things out the end might take another twenty chapters but well...yeah. Also the Mettaton fight is too damn long, GD Mettaton and your flashy ridiculous fight that I should've just cut down but nooooo I had to go through the whole thing like I wanted to suffer.)


	32. Chapter 32

(a/n: But JeMa you said the update would be on saturday! Yes dear reader, but I have no self control when it comes to writing, none at all.

CONTENT WARNING: Death, puking, physical and emotional trauma!)

Chapter 32

Frisk took a few steps forward and made a teleport point in the center of the little laboratory. Then they turned around and left.

Just faintly, like a whispered breath they could hear Chara calling to them but they didn't want to hear. They knew it was cruel but they blocked Chara's voice from their mind. They couldn't risk Chara talking them out of what they had to do.

Frisk closed their eyes and felt. On one side of them was the Ruin's reset point, the permanent point where it all began, the one save point that wouldn't fade, that they couldn't overwrite. On the other side, high in Mt. Ebbot was the last save point that had made, right after they finished fighting Mettaton. It was too far away. Even if they ran after reloading they wouldn't make it in time, if they even could- They shook their head, banishing the thought from their mind. All their other save points were so degraded that Frisk couldn't find them, only traces of where they had been. There was only one option, so they would make it work.

Frisk went back to that horrible misty place, desecrated by violence, and made another teleport point, pushing as much determination into it as they could. And while their determination was high, before they lost their nerve, they closed their eyes and reloaded their last save point.

The bright lights were dimming, the camera's lowering as power was cut. Sweat stuck their shirt to their back. Undyne and Alphys walked towards them smiling and waving.

Frisk shook their head. There was no time. They closed their eyes felt for the teleport point. It was there, but it wasn't, because they hadn't made it yet. They furrowed their brow, focusing on the whispers of power that hinted at its existence. They had been there, they _had_ made it and they _would_ use it because they had decided to do so.

Sweat rolled down their back and their head began to throb. Their soul was throbbing too, their chest felt too tight. Determination thrummed through every inch of them and felt like their skin was burning from the inside. A hand touched their shoulder, they shrugged it off. A voice, many voices called their name, they ignored them. They grasped at the teleport point, trying to see it, trying to make the wispy threads of potential real to their mind. They pressed the heel of their hand against their temples as the pressure inside of them seemed to grow. The throbbing ache in their skull made their vision dim and blacken at the edges.

The world they saw in the mind exploded. They gasped, letting out a hiss through their teeth as pain shot through their head and down their spine. Frisk dropped to their knees and clutched their head, though they were only distantly aware of it happening. They clutched their chest as the pain settled there, every breath tight.

Undyne and Alphy's souls, only flickers of light to their perception, now blazed like bonfires, made of magic, hope, love, compassion, like threads that wound together to make them them. They could feel across the whole underground, every soul, every piece of magic and encircling it all, engulfing it like a bubble was the barrier and there they could sense no more. Their lungs ached, their throat burned and they could taste- but it wasn't important, none of that was. They _had_ to find the teleport point.

They could almost see it but it was like trying to grab smoke. They frowned in frustration, furrowed their brow, tried to focus on it harder and ignore the blinding sharp pain lancing through their head and soul. Hands gripped their arm, squeezed hard, pulling them out of their head momentarily and they heard Alphys begging them to stop. Frisk pressed their hands over their ears. It should be so easy it was just a stupid anchor, it was... just an anchor.

Frisk took a deep breath. Pins, anchors, they were all tools, to make it easier. They could sense the wisps of determination for a teleport point they had never made, would never make if this worked, they focused on the faint feeling, it would have to do.

It was twice the distance they had ever tried to teleport before and they had almost passed out trying to go that far, with a stable teleportation link. They knew, there was a very good chance this wouldn't work. They focused their mind on the place, reached out towards it and

Black.

Pain.

Too far, not far enough. Perhaps, they emerged inside the stone sides of the mountain or perhaps beneath the lava. Perhaps. All they remembered was a brief moment of blackness and intense pain.

Their soul shattered. They died.

In that moment of perfect blackness, that void of existence, a new voice was there, ringing in their mind, pulling them like a rope to the surface of a still lake, "I PROMISE I'LL NEVER SEND YOU AWAY. WE CAN BE YOUR NEW FAMILY. FRISK!"

They were filled with determination.

Frisk gasped, stumbled and barely caught themselves. Sweat beaded their face. Their head still throbbed. The world was still painfully bright.

"Are y-you ok? You look pale." Alphys asked as she ran up, no congratulations this time.

They shook their head and closed their eyes. Took a deep breath. Ignored their hesitation, ignored the fear that welled up in them in anticipation of what might come. Determination throbbed through their soul and they reached to pull themselves towards-

Nothing.

Couldn't see.

Couldn't hear or touch, even themselves, even when they screamed.

But it was cold.

So cold.

It took a long time to die. Or perhaps, it only felt like a long time. Perhaps.

Frisk loaded again.

They retched but only tasted acid on the back of their throat. They pressed their hands to their aching, clenching stomach. Their hands were shaking. Tears ran down their nose and dripped onto the floor. They didn't want to do it again. They didn't want to. And on the edges of their mind they could feel Chara pressing against the barriers they had put up in their mind, no words, just despair, and that, that was the worst thing.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, balling their shirt in their hands so hard the fabric hurt and their joints ached. They found the wisps of the teleport point. They bit their lip so hard they could taste blood. Their Determination flared. They _couldn't_ let him die. They had to try.

They reached out.

Snow crunched underfoot, cold and mist surrounded them like a fog but Papyrus, Papyrus stood out like a beacon, weak, but _alive_.

Frisk legs almost giving out under them, the cold air stinging in their lungs.

Papyrus was kneeling in the snow and he was looking at, it didn't matter who, with pleading and hope. He stretched his hands. "I BELIEVE IN YOU, FLOWEY."

"Well, that's nice." Flowey said saccharine sweet.

Hidden by the mist, Frisk could feel Flowey's thorns.

They ran to Papyrus and threw their arms around his neck. The thorns thumped hollowly into their back and their soul absorbed the force of his violence. Stinging burning ache, their soul creaked under the violent magic. They felt like they might break apart at any second.

"FRISK...?" Papyrus' eyes struggled to focus on them.

Frisk did their best to smile and kissed his forehead.

"You?" Flowey said.

Faintly, they could hear Sans voice calling Papyrus' name. Getting more frantic as it got closer. It would safe now. Frisk lifted their head.

"...Chara?" Flowey's voice wavered.

Frisk turned around and walked over to the little flower, moving slowly, their soul throbbing with pain. Their head pounded, lights danced at the edge of their vision.

"C-Chara?" Flowey's voice was small and afraid.

Frisk pulled the stick from their back and lowered it until brushed the edges of Flowey's petals. The stick was motionless, unnervingly so.

"...Don't You Ever Hurt Them Again..." Frisk stared at Flowey until he met their eyes, "Understand?"

Flowey's petals wilted.

They pressed the stick against his face, " **Do. You. Understand?** "

He nodded, trembling.

"I'll **never forgive you** if you hurt any of them again." Frisk said.

"ok" Flowey said in a whisper.

The end of the stick dropped until it dug into the snow.

Frisk sat down and trembled. They felt cold and empty inside, and tired. They felt so tired. They barely registered when Chara took control, pushing them to the side.

" _Why?_ " Chara asked, trying not to cry.

Flowey flinched like Chara had hit him.

" _Why?_ "

Flowey wouldn't look at them, his crumpled petals shrouded his eyes, "...i _hate_ you."

Chara stopped trying to be strong, stopped trying to pretend it was ok, let themselves cry. "... _Azzy..._ " They sobbed. " _I'm sorry. It's not pity. i'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry I got you killed. I'm sorry I made that stupid plan. I'm sorry about everything..._ "

Flowey narrowed his eyes, "Who are you?"

" _What?_ " Chara stared at him in confusion.

"You're not _them_. Chara wouldn't give me any worthless pity. They understood me! They understood that being nice just makes you get hurt." He glared up at them, though his petals still drooped, "Moving away from me, making new friends, a new family," he muttered, "My Chara would never do that. My Chara would want to stay with me forever like I want to stay with them. My Chara would make me feel again... or wouldn't feel anything just like I do. We lost our souls when we died you shouldn't- you couldn't be them, not with a soul. You're someone else." He frowned, "Frisk." Spit their name like venom, "I don't know you. I don't owe you anything."

Chara curled their fingers into the snow. They roughly wiped their cheeks dry.

Flowey disappeared down into the earth, popping back up deeper in the mist, so all they could see was his silhouette, "You're the one that stole from me. You're the one that took my timeline." he said sulkily, "My timeline."

Footsteps behind them broke into a run, "bro? bro?!"

Chara turned to see Sans run to Papyrus' side. When they looked back, Flowey was gone.

"papyrus?! what happened?!" Sans grabbed Papyrus' hand, and checked his soul, just barely hiding a flash of panic. "you're gonna be alright, bro." he reassured them.

"...FRISK..." Papyrus said.

They had never heard Papyrus' voice sound so weak.

"let's get you back to the house." Sans said. He helped Papyrus get to his feet and put his brother's hand on his shoulder so he could lean on Sans like a cane, "you'll be alright..."

Frisk stared down at the snow. No dust this time. No one died.

Sans and Papyrus' steps faded away.

 _Frisk..._

Frisk slowly pushed themselves to their feet. Every part of them throbbed like a sore muscle but their determination rose like bile hot in their throat.

 _I... Frisk, you- you need to rest..._

Frisk shook their head and Chara pulled back nervously, afraid to press them.

They walked to the house and around the back, Frisk tried the lab door but it was locked. Frisk closed their eyes, felt the wisps of power inside the room and pulled themselves inside.

Frisk leaned against the cold metal wall and closed their eyes until their shaking subsided. They walked slowly in the dark, hand along the wall until they found the doorway and searched out the light switch. The lights came on slowly, flickering and buzzing back to life.

"I know why this place feels weird now..." They mumbled, moving to the work counter, "...this room is outside of the timeline, this place isn't effected by the resets... that's why he knows..." They began pulling open drawers.

 _Frisk..._ Chara asked softly. _What are you looking for?_

Frisk didn't answer, they weren't sure. Three of the drawers were full of notebooks, all dated in a strange code, Frisk guessed they marked which reset they were recording. Sans handwriting was careful and round, full of observations and equations. Occasionally, the entries would change to a strange handwriting made up of symbols that Frisk could not understand. In one drawer there were a few assorted nicknacks, a faded blurred photograph that Frisk could not make out and a drawing of three stick figures, which stuck out of an old binder, the bottom of the picture was signed in the careful blocky handwriting of a very young Papyrus. Written at the top of the picture in Sans handwriting was, 'don't forget'. Frisk carefully replaced those and closed the drawer.

They opened the next drawer and found... a red scarf, stained with dust. Frisk reached out and touched it, their hand recoiled and they had to force their fingers to curl around it and lift it out. It was torn and still damp from the snow. It felt gritty. Frisk's hands were shaking so bad they almost dropped it.

 _He's alive._ Chara tried to reassure them. _Papyrus is ok! ...Frisk? ….You save him, Frisk, I promise you did._

Frisk clutched the scarf tight to themselves. Papyrus was alive, but that didn't change the fact that he had died that he had-

They sobbed. Their body shuddered with grief, everything that had happened came rushing back all at once and filled them with a despair they almost couldn't fathom. They cried into the dusty scarf. They cried until their eyes ached and their throat was sore. They cried until it hurt to breath. They cried until the ache in their chest slowly began to ease.

 _Frisk..._ Chara said reluctantly, _...The drawer..._

They slowly focused their eyes on the open drawer in front of them. Beneath where Papyrus' scarf had been, was another red scarf, sealed in a clear plastic bag, carefully labeled with a reset number. Frisk lifted the bag, there was another sealed scarf below that. Some were almost pristine, some were hardly more than scraps, they were all stained with dust. There were so many. The sealed bag on the very bottom didn't have an exact reset number on the label, just an approximation, written roughly with a sloppy hand, the ink smeared by wiped away tears.

Frisk ran their fingers across the label then pulled back. The bags fell back into place as if Frisk had never touched them. They stared, eyes half unfocused, the red fabric burning into their vision, trying desperately to understand the intense pain in the pit of their chest like a knife in their heart until-

Frisk pressed their hand over their battered soul. The pain they felt, the mourning that had no place, the pain of losing someone who wasn't lost, Sans had felt that over and over and over again. His only family, brutally torn from him again and again but there was no place to grieve a loss that never happened.

They felt a surge of magic behind them, preceding Sans like a gust of wind before the storm. "here you are then. i won't ask how you got in." he said flatly, "you know, a locked door generally means you're not invited."

Frisk let out a breath they didn't know that had been holding, it came out shuddery, tears dripping down their cheeks.

"papyrus is asking for you." he said with a forced casualness.

Frisk said nothing, their hands tightened in the folds of the scarf.

"kid?" he asked warily, his tone softening despite himself. He stepped closer and saw the open drawer, and froze in his tracks.

Frisk forced themselves to turn, though every cell in their body wanted to just sit and cry until there was nothing left and exhaustion took them.

Sans eyes locked on the scarf in their hands and sucked in a raged breath, "so... it happened again... i thought it felt familiar." his voice was strangely detached and calm.

Frisk shuddered. Their vision blurred and they sobbed though they tried not to. Their cheeks hurt from the salty tears, each new drop a stinging line across their face.

Sans shook his head, "the more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. the more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. the more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others. heh." he laughed humorlessly, his eyes distant and flat as a mill pond, "soon it won't hurt you at all."

Sans word rang in their head like a slap. It took a long time for them to sink in and when they did Frisk's legs gave out and they slumped to the floor. They stared at the floor without seeing it, their mind numb with shock.

" _...How could you ever think-?_ " Chara choked out in dismay. " _How dare you?_ " their hands shook, their arms trembled, Chara clutched the scarf tight to their body, pressing the fabric against their skin, " _Frisk died to save him! ...Papyrus died and they went back..._ " their voice shook, " _they had to teleport to a location that was too far away, saved in the future, they died twice before managing it and then, and then..._ " Chara looked down and shook their head, fighting back a sob through clenched teeth, pressing their eyes shut to try and stem the tears, " _they only had enough time to step between Papyrus and the bullets, they almost died again and you... you-!_ "

Sans blinked and seemed to focus on them for the first time. He lowered himself to his knees and studied their face. He waved his hand over their heart and Frisk's soul pulsed, a dull faded red, "shit, kid...you're nearly, you... you didn't, did you..?. you need a healer, something to eat, you... what happened? ...what the hell happened?" He reached out his hand.

Frisk pulled away, "...don't touch me." They said, twisting out of reach.

He pulled his hand back. His eyes slowly widened.

Frisk cradled Papyrus' scarf to their face, the fabric rough on their cheeks, damp with tears smelling of bone.

"... _They suffered so much,_ " Chara despaired, " _They pushed me away so I wouldn't feel it but I-_ " their voice broke, " _I saw everything._ "

"what happened?" Sans asked again softly.

"flower," Frisk said. "did it."

Sans swallowed hard, "pap said..." he braced his hands on the tile floor, "... the flower. he talked about one before but i thought it was an echo flower... i thought the anomaly was using them to trick papyrus but the anomaly _was_ the flower all along?" Sans head snapped up "do you know-?"

Frisk flinched and shifted further away from him.

Sans studied them, then sat back on his heels and covered his face with his hands.

Frisk stared at the scarf in their hands. Very carefully, they laid it out on the floor and folded it into a neat square, placing in the top of the pile in the open drawer and pushed the drawer closed. They edged around Sans, hurried back outside and went to find Papyrus.

(a/n: Next update Saturday the 7th, for reals this time, because... I have no self control, I think it might end up being a somewhat short chapter though. I'm sorry, this is so rough, I hope everyone's doing ok. Um, thank you for all the comments and reviews and stuff and stay determined duckies!)


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Papyrus was in the house, laying on the couch in his pajamas, his bones scraped from vines and thorns. He had been healed, so his soul was stable, but it would take time for his body to recover as well.

They ran up to him and awkwardly hugged him. He winced but didn't complain. He wasn't wearing his gloves, his fingers were thin and smooth as he brushed their tangled hair and touched their swollen tear stained cheeks. "I'M GLAD YOU'RE SAFE, FRISK." He smiled tiredly.

"Me too. I'm glad you're safe, Pap." Frisk said into his shoulder, a few stray tears escaping into the fabric.

"YOU SAVED ME." He patted their head, "YOU'RE A HERO!"

"it was scary. " Frisk whispered. "it was really scary."

"I AM RIGHT HERE." he reassured them and let himself relax back into the couch. "I'M SORRY ABOUT THE PARTY. WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE IT LATER. I HAVE ALREADY TEXTED EVERYONE THE SAD NEWS."

"...i'm sorry." they mumbled.

"IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!" He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to theirs, "IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT." he reassured them.

Frisk wasn't sure about that but they tried to smile.

"TELL SANS TO PUT ALL THE FOOD AWAY AND TELL HIM TO CHECK MY PHONE FOR MESSAGES AND... MAKE SURE YOU BOTH EAT..." His eyes drifted shut and his voice faded as he drifted off. "...MAKE... SURE..."

Frisk stayed by his side until Papyrus dozed off to the sleep. They pulled the blankets up to his chin and sat on the floor next to the couch, almost unconsciously, their fingers drifted towards the box of yarn. They pulled it over to their side, "Can we knit?" they asked Chara softly, "My head hurts, I don't wanna think."

Chara took control with a nod and picked up the scarf, almost finished. They knitted, Chara could feel Frisk, like a ghost atop their fingers, pressing their minds tight together so they could feel everything Chara did as if they did it themselves. Frisk concentration pulled them into every sensation, the feeling of the yarn on their fingertips, the cool metal needles, the rhythmic movement.

If Chara let their awareness drift into what Frisk was feeling it was an almost overwhelming flood of information. Frisk sense of magic was inflamed. An intense awareness of Papyrus' magic and soul, so vivid they could have traced the magic that made up his finger joints, and made out every contour of his soul. It so sensitive it was painful, like going from a dark cave into the blinding daylight, letting their mind linger on it for too long made their head throb.

The door clicked open and closed, slippers padded over to them and very carefully sat down across from them.

Chara didn't look up from their knitting but they stiffened in apprehension.

Sans sat a plastic container down in the space between them, "it's soup. from grillby's."

They tugged what was left of the ball of yarn, it fell from the box and rolled across the floor, unravelling as it went.

"your soul must feel awful, come on, kid." Sans urged. "i know it's not pap's stuff but this'll be easier to eat."

" _You haven't said the most important thing._ " Chara said quietly.

Sans sat back and rubbed his face. "i don't know what to believe anymore..."

" _...numbers, equations, hypothesis, what do they tell you about the heart of someone who only wanted to be a part of your family?_ " Chara said in a quiet, calm tone that nonetheless had a razor edge.

He looked down at his hands, studying them as if they held the answers that he sought.

" _What matters to you, Sans?_ " Chara asked.

"papyrus." Sans said without a second thought.

" _Do you mean family, or just him?_ "

"he's my brother, they're the same thing, no bones about it." he smiled weakly.

Chara started a new row, " _One is static, the other can change._ " their fingers paused and they looked up, locking eyes with him and holding them with the intensity of a hawk, " _Friends are the family you choose. You see them as a burden you have to protect alone but that's wrong. They can support you and give you strength, challenge you and fill you with hope."_ Chara looked back down at the scarf, it was nearly complete, _"If you stop pushing them away..._ "

"heh, friends are the family you choose, huh?" Sans rolled his eyes, "where'd you hear that tripe?"

" _Papyrus._ "

"of course. that's my brother." Sans sighed and rubbed his forehead "...i gave up a long time ago." he said, pressing his palms against his eye sockets; clenched fingers scraping across his brows, "i tend to...expect the worst from monsters, people... i'm not sure i know how to believe in someone anymore."

" _A little bit at a time."_ Chara held up the scarf, a deep and vibrant cerulean blue, " _Finished._ " They leaned forward and looped the scarf around Sans neck loosely, " _You like blue, right?_ "

San stared a the scarf then at Chara in astonishment.

" _You haven't said the most important thing yet._ " Chara said pressing the knitting needles together with a click.

He touched the scarf in wonder, "why?"

Chara squeezed the cold metal of the knitting needles and waited. Frisk was waiting too.

Sans wrapped the scarf around his neck and tugged it up to his chin, fingers brushing the yarn, "...i'm..." he sighed and clutched the scarf, "god, i'm sorry kid."

"...I never did anything bad." Frisk said softly, they reached out and picked up the plastic container of soup.

"...no, you didn't." he said.

A puff of steam escaped when they took the lid off. The soup was thick and filled with vegetables and smelled like carrots and onions. Frisk put it against their mouth and sipped. The food dissolved into magic as they swallowed like mist hit by the morning sun, but the heat settled in their chest and spread. They hadn't even realized how cold they were, until the warmth began to work its way through them and warm their numb fingertips.

They could feel the fire magic lingering in it. It almost hurt how much they could feel everything as minutely as the ridges of their own fingerprints. They felt almost like... if they lost their concentration their mind would sink into the magic of this world, like a tapestry being unwoven and they would drown in thread. Frisk shivered gulped down the soup as quickly as they could. The ache in the soul eased.

"Can I ask you a question?" Frisk said, setting the empty container on the floor.

"sure... anything." Sans said, trying to sound flippant.

Frisk asked, "What are you afraid of?"

"...everything." Sans said softly.

Frisk nodded.

"what are you afraid of then?" he asked.

"Myself." Frisk said. "... _Same._ " Chara added softly.

"mm." he looked at the floor blankly, "why'd you give me the scarf?"

Chara said, " _I was making it for you originally, as a surprise... just because you had your head shoved so far up your pelvis you could've passed for a pretzel doesn't mean I'm not going to give it to you._ " Chara smiled ruefully, " _You forget that we already know you._ "

Frisk nodded, "We were friends before."

"i don't know you." Sans said softly. "you want me to trust you but i _don't_ know you."

Papyrus shifted and mumbled something in his sleep.

" _Should we move somewhere else for this little heart to heart?_ " Chara asked.

Sans massaged his brow, "...probably."

Frisk stood and nodded upstairs. Sans followed them without question as they went to his room, opening the door and flicking on the light.

Sans blinked in the light, "...it's clean..."

Frisk looked around. Sans must have not even been in here since Papyrus had done his housecleaning. The floor was clear and vacuumed, the mattress on the floor had sheets, clean and unwrinkled. The trash tornado was still in the corner of the room but had significantly less trash and all the socks in it had been washed and then carefully replaced.

Frisk went and sat on the edge of the mattress. They wanted to lay down, they wanted to sleep; but part of them was tensed tight as a spring and wary of Sans. "Pap did a cleaning day... yesterday." It seemed like a lot longer than that.

" _When'd you last sleep?_ " Chara asked Sans, " _I'd say you look like death but I don't want to be too grim._ "

Sans grinned halfheartedly as he pulled the door almost closed, leaving it open a crack, though if it was to better let him escape or them, was impossible to know. "here and there. you look worse." He sat on the farthest corner of the mattress away from them and leaned against the wall.

"...Pap wants us to live here with him, would that be bad?" Frisk asked.

Sans asked, "if i asked you not too, would you?"

Frisk nodded reluctantly, clutching their hands together tightly.

He made a sound that was almost like a laugh, almost like a sigh, "...i give up. i'll throw myself at your mercy." Sans said, "you do what you want. i won't fight it anymore, i tried, and nothing good came of it. nothing ever does." he shrugged, "i'm not a fighter anyway."

Chara shook their head. " _Why do you have to act like that?_ "

"what do you want me to act like?" he said shortly, "a happy little clam? i'm not stupid. i've seen what happened before... you've seen what happened before."

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut and pulled their knees up and wrapped their arms around them.

"kid," he sighed, shook his head and said with a deep weariness, "you're like a god, you know?"

Frisk looked at him in surprise.

"in all the ways that matter." He spread his hands wide, "can you see how scary that is?" his voice cracked and he wouldn't look at them.

" _Would you stop Frisk if you could?_ " Chara asked.

"in a heartbeat." Sans said without hesitation. "no one should have the kind of power you have."

Frisk stared at the wall. Sans stared at his hands.

"His name is Flowey." Frisk said softly.

Sans brow furrowed, "huh?"

"The anomaly is a golden flower named Flowey." Frisk said.

Sans stiffened, he looked at them for the first time since they had come into the room, "but you-"

"Alphys took a golden flower and injected determination into it." Frisk said in a flat, small voice, "Flowey doesn't have a soul. He cant feel love, compassion or empathy. Or guilt."

" _He has the moral compass of a toddler._ " Chara said.

"no soul?" he echoed quietly.

"I don't care if you hate him." Frisk said, "I don't care if you want to kill him, you're not allowed."

"what?" Sans gaped.

"I'm gonna give him a soul, I'm gonna save him. You can help or not but stop being a butt. Stop making Pap worry." Frisk shook their head, "I'm not gonna reset. I'm not gonna hurt anyone and no one is gonna get hurt, not Pap, not you and not Flowey."

Sans stared at them.

Frisk press their hands to their cheeks, swollen and tender, their eyes hurt. They were so tired. "No more fighting. No one's gonna die ever again."

"...life doesn't work that way, kid." Sans said softly.

"...it can," Frisk looked at their hands, "for me... you even said."

Sans stiffened.

"I thought I shouldn't use my power cause it was bad," Frisk said, "I thought if I was good no one would get mad." they shook their head, "But when I was on the surface and was always good, no one ever wanted me. Then I came down here and everybody was- and Mum wanted to keep me so, I thought maybe it was just humans but it's not..." they studied the line in their hands, and traced the life line with one finger, "I'm gonna do what I want now ...I'm gonna use my power and save people. I'll use it as often as I need to, to make sure no one ever cries again."

Sans eyes widened.

 _But that won't protect you, that won't save you from getting hurt. What about you, Frisk?_

Frisk shrugged.

" _Frisk."_ Chara's voice trembled.

Frisk closed their eyes, "Sorry." they said softly, "Please, will you help me? I know it's selfish, I just... I-" they stopped, swallowing hard as their throat tightened.

Chara grabbed their hand, squeezing it tight, " _It's not! If that's what you want I'll help however I can. I just don't want you to get hurt._ "

"Me neither." Frisk said, their head started to sink to their chest and they pulled it back up, pulled their eyes open. They looked at Sans, "Are you gonna stop me?"

"i can't stop you." he put his head in his hands.

Frisk's brow furrowed, "Yes, you can." they said confused. "You have more magic than anyone in the underground. I never understood why you felt so scary sometimes but now I can see, you blaze like the sun. So much magic, hurts to look at it."

Whenever they blinked, looking at him, it made their head throb. His weak and fragile soul, holding itself together with barely any hope, a smidgen of compassion and a handful of love, nonetheless broiled with magic, sharp and fast, like the glimpse of silver underwater of a fish you weren't sure you'd seen.

Sans slowly lifted his head and looked at them. Frisk couldn't read his expression.

"You told me last time that if it weren't for your promise 'you'd be dead were you stand'." Frisk giggled even though it wasn't funny, everything seemed a little funny. "I guess it was true. ...With that much power you could poof me whenever." They blinked, it was a struggle to pull their eyes open again, they rubbed their temples. "Are you...gonna stop me...?" they asked around a yawn.

Sans clenched his hands together and muttered something under his breath.

Frisk rested their head in their hands and left their eyes closed.

Sans finally said, "...you said it yourself, you've been good. i won't stop you."

"K." Frisk mumbled, "stop me if i'm bad...I ...don't wanna be like Flowey." They pulled their eyes open, "Promise?"

"i hate making promises." Sans said.

Frisk laughed.

He glanced at them from the corner of his eye and sighed. "i promise, kid."

"that's good." Frisk mumbled. "also...pap said to tell you put the food away." They forced themselves to stand and left, walking down to Papyrus' room, on hand trailing the wall to make sure they didn't fall over. They crawled into his bed, pulling the blankets haphazardly over themselves and curling into a tight little ball in the corner, their forehead almost touching the red plastic of the car bed frame.

They closed their eyes and looked at the world, felt the magic. It was like looking into the night sky, surrounded by the stars of people's lives. Sans, a sun of power in the next room, Papyrus a warm and bright blue star downstairs. Further out they could see the gentle glow of people of Snowdin. Far off they could feel the faint glimmer of Undyne and Napstablook in Waterfall. A little further was Alphys and the small community that made their home in Hotland. High up, New Home blazed like it's own galaxy, Asgore the brightest star amongst them.

They shifted their focus back to Snowdin and through the trees mostly empty but for a few Gyftrot's and a few other monsters, through the ruins, they could see the gentle glow of Toriel's soul, twin in power and brightness to Asgore. The ruin's had fewer lights, fewer lives within them but they seemed well. Deep, deep in the ruins, a single star of power stood out, power, without a soul, right next to the reset point, a flower amongst flowers.

Frisk relaxed into the mattress, pulling their head into the blankets. Everyone was still ok. They made a save point, a golden star of determination in their chest. They would protect this moment and tomorrow night, if everyone was safe again, they would make another. They would protect this world with all the strength in their heart, one day at a time.

(a/n: next update Saturday, May 14th. I shall try to contain myself to this update date, mostly because I have a lot of things I need to get done this week and, unfortunately, cannot allow myself to indulge in writing two chapters. ...Geez, I want to though...

Hopefully this chapter is everything it was in my head, all shiny and wonderful... It's such a bugger moving ideas from your head to the page, it's never quite as good.)


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

A loud crash jolted Frisk awake. They stumbled out of bed and pulled open the door and looked downstairs. Papyrus was pulling himself up from the couch. There was a faint metallic ringing and a pan lid rolled out of the kitchen, looped around in a circle and spiraled down with a clatter.

Frisk walked down the stairs, rubbing their face and poked their head into the kitchen. Sans was sitting in the center of an explosion of pans, staring at the mess around him with abject exhaustion.

Papyrus walked up behind them, setting a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "SANS?"

He looked up and sighed, "i thought i'd make breakfast but-" he gestured to the mess helplessly, "...i can't even do that right."

Frisk stepped around the pans and pulled out the frying pan from under a large stock pot, "Found it." They held it out to Sans.

He took it mechanically and stared down at it in his hands.

Frisk looked up at Papyrus. He still looked tired. So did Sans. Frisk rubbed their face and sighed.

"Pap." Frisk said, "Get a chair and put it here." They pointed to the entrance of the kitchen.

He did as they said.

Frisk nodded, "Now sit."

He sat down as Frisk pulled out the step stool and unfolded it, pushing it in front of the stove. "There." They gestured at it to Sans.

He looked at the step stool then at the pans scattered across the floor.

"I'll clean up the pans." Frisk said impatiently, "Go on. Pap will tell you what to do."

Sans and Papyrus looked at each.

"I WILL DO MY ABSOLUTE BEST!" Papyrus said brightly.

"...alright." Sans placed the frying pan on the stove and went to the fridge.

Frisk started picking up the pans, stacking them and carefully putting them back in the bottom cabinet Papyrus had jammed them in before.

Sans came back with eggs and bread and butter.

Frisk finished putting the pans away and went out to the couch. They lay down on their back and stared at the ceiling, listening to Papyrus coach Sans on making egg in a basket. They couldn't really hear Sans except when he swore, they couldn't make out the words but they knew the tone. Normally it would've made them giggle but they didn't have the energy to even smile.

Papyrus called them to the table when it was all ready. They were given two slices, the yolks poking out of their toast holes like eyes in a keyhole.

Sans was silent. Papyrus watched him anxiously, while doing a bad job of pretending he wasn't worried at all.

Frisk picked up their fork and cut into the toast so the yolk broke, bright yellow-orange. They paused, "Thank you for making breakfast, Sans."

He looked up from his plate, searching their face. He looked from them to Papyrus.

"IT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE! I..." he tapped his fingers together, "AM HOPEFUL THAT MAYBE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER?"

For a brief moment Sans had the yawning, despairing expression of someone who has accidentally kicked a puppy but he quickly hid it with tired smile, "yeah."

There was a long silence, filled only with sound of silverware clinking on their plates.

"...i'm sorry about... the last couple days." Sans said softly.

Papyrus set his fork down on his plate, "I WOULD LIKE TO HELP. I WOULD LIKE IT IF YOU TOLD ME THINGS, SO I COULD HELP. IT'S..." He paused as he searched for the right words, "PAINFUL TO NOT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING, BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BROTHER, AND MY FAMILY AND I CARE ABOUT YOU."

Sans flinched.

Papyrus continued, "RECENTLY, I REALIZED HOW MUCH YOU'VE DONE FOR ME. BUT THERE ISN'T MUCH I CAN DO FOR YOU. I WANT TO DO MORE."

"you do plenty." Sans smiled, "you're the best brother in the world."

Papyrus' brows drew together.

" _Come on, Sans._ " Chara said softly.

Sans looked down at his plate, "i'll... try?"

"THANK YOU, SANS." Papyrus said gratefully, "I'M GLAD YOU'RE FEELING A LITTLE BETTER."

Sans nodded, "thanks for looking out for me, bro."

"IS THAT THE SCARF CHARA WAS KNITTING?" Papyrus asked, steering the conversation to a lighter topic.

Sans looked down at the vibrant blue knitted scarf around his neck and stared at it, still looking almost as if he still couldn't believe it had been given to him. He nodded and muttered an affirmation under his breath.

" _It was good practice._ " Chara said, " _It's been a_ lifetime _since I knitted anything._ " they snickered.

Sans smiled slightly.

" _I was thinking I'd knit a sweater next,_ " they hesitated slightly, playing with the food on their plate, " _if you'd like._ " they glanced up at Papyrus.

Papyrus sparkled with excitement, "FOR ME?!"

Chara nodded.

"MY GOODNESS! I'M SO EXCITED!" he clapped his hands together, "IT WILL BE THE BEST SWEATER EVER MADE, I'LL HAVE TO WEAR IT FOREVER!"

Chara blushed, "It won't be that good." they smiled happily.

"I'm sure it will be!" Papyrus countered.

They finished breakfast with a lively discussion about sweater colors and favorite colors and designs. Sans volunteered to help Papyrus clean the dishes and Papyrus talked about getting the sink lowered back down to a normal height so that Frisk or Undyne could use it.

Chara stayed at the table and rested their head on it with a sigh, " _We just woke up but still feel like a wet sock, great start to a great day._ "

Chara, Frisk said, I want to go see Pop-pop today.

Chara stiffened, " _Today?_ "

Yes. Frisk said, I need your help to talk to him. I need you to convince him to give me a soul.

" _Does it have to be today?_ " Chara asked.

Yes. I don't want to give Asriel time to hurt anyone again. Frisk said firmly.

Chara shivered and closed their eyes tight.

Please. Frisk pressed.

" _Ok. I..._ " they took a deep breath, _"I just want to watch the video first... to get my nerve up._ " They pushed away from the table and went over to their box of belonging at the end of the couch, digging to the very bottom and pulling out the video they had gotten from Alphys' lab.

Chara put it in and, their finger paused over the play button. They went back over to the kitchen, " _I- ...I'm going to watch an old video from when I was still alive... do you want to watch it with us?_ " They asked timidly, mostly to Papyrus.

The last cleaned plate was drifting down from the ceiling high sink wreathed in blue magic. Papyrus plucked it out of the air and quickly dried it, "WOWIE! THAT SOUNDS SUPER NEAT! DON'T YOU THINK SO, SANS?"

"...sure." Sans said reluctantly.

Chara went back into the living room and pushed play as Papyrus sat on the couch, Sans trailing behind him.

Chara knelt on the floor right in front of the tv. They pointed the human figure dressed in green as the video started, " _That's me._ "

Papyrus said, "YOU LOOK LIKE FRISK!"

" _I'm cuter._ " Chara said flatly.

Frisk giggled, "A lot cuter."

" _Can it._ " Chara muttered, their cheeks getting warm.

"THAT MONSTER LOOKS LIKE A TINY KING ASGORE!" Papyrus said as Asriel turned the camera around.

"that's because he was asgore's kid." Sans said stiffly, his arms were folded tightly over his chest.

" _my brother._ " Chara said softly.

Papyrus said, "I'VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM!"

Sans said, "he died a long time ago."

"OH!" Papyrus flustered, "I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO-"

" _It's fine._ " Chara said softly, " _Just watch, ok?_ "

Papyrus tucked his hands between his knees and watched silently. Chara's eyes never left the screen, trying to burn Asriel's voice and image into their mind. When the video ended they sagged slightly and took a deep breath, " _I'm ready now._ "

They ejected the video and put back in the bottom of the box.

"ready for what?" Sans asked, his voice was casual but he was standing stiffly.

" _To go see Asgore._ " Chara said.

"YOU'RE GOING TO GO SEE THE KING?" Papyrus asked.

They nodded. " _I think, I need tea. Golden flower tea._ "

"I SHALL HELP YOU!" Papyrus said enthusiastically.

He helped them search through the cabinets and eventually found a very large green and grey thermos but no tea. Frisk could tell that Papyrus was starting to feel tired so they lead him back to the couch with the thermos under one arm and had him sit. "Don't wear yourself out too much Pap. You gotta get better first."

He sighed, "THERE'S SO MUCH I WANT TO DO. WE COULDN'T DO THE CELEBRATION. I CAN'T EVEN HELP YOU GET TEA!"

"You don't havta do everything." Frisk said.

"NEITHER DO YOU!" Papyrus said. "OR IS IT, SHOULD YOU?"

Frisk didn't have anything to say to this but smiled at his kindness.

Sans walked over to them. Frisk hadn't notice he had left. He was holding a tube of something in his hands, and tossed it to Papyrus, who fumbled and almost didn't catch it.

"bring back memories?" Sans said in a teasing tone.

Papyrus read the tube and grinned, "BONE BRUISE CREAM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH! I USED THIS ALL THE TIME WHEN I WAS A BABY BONES!"

"yeah." Sans grinned and sat on the couch next to Papyrus, "just focus on getting back to one hundred and ten percent again, bro. i'll watch over the kid and we can have that celebration once you're your old self."

"WELL, I APPRICIATE IT! JUST..." his face twisted in careful thought, "THE SAME TO YOU!"

" _I'm just going to talk to... my dad."_ Chara said. _"It's nothing to fuss over._ "

"WHAT ABOUT LUNCH?" Papyrus asked.

"We'll grab something from the store." Frisk said as they pulled of their jacket.

Papyrus expression said all that needed to be said about the pre-made food at the store. "NO BICICLES!"

"Ok!" Frisk grinned. The waved for him to bend down and hugged him tightly around the neck, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Pap, If Flowey shows up again please run away."

"BUT FLOWEY IS MY FRIEND!" Papyrus said, "I'M SURE WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT WAS JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING."

Sans said, "he tried to kil-"

" _He's sick._ " Chara interrupted, " _Frisk and I know where to get some medicine for him but until he's better he might hurt you, or anyone who approaches him. Once he's better, then you can talk to him and talk about... everything._ "

Papyrus frowned slightly but conceded, "I UNDERSTAND. CAN I HELP?"

"Sorry." Frisk said, "it's something only we can do."

Papyrus nodded, trying not to look too disappointed. He uncapped the bone bruise cream and rubbed some on his wrist.

Sans sighed and slid off the couch. "i'll come with."

Frisk pouted and rolled their head back, "Do you havta?"

"yeah." sans said.

"I WOULD ALSO FEEL MORE AT EASE IS SANS WAS WITH YOU." Papyrus said.

Frisk let out a reluctant sigh.

"...Fine." Frisk looked him up and down critically, "At least change into clean clothes." they said, "or you can't come."

Sans looked down at his rumpled stained shirt, "ah, come on, kid." he said.

"No. Change." Frisk said flatly.

Sans looked at his brother imploringly.

Papyrus absently rubbed more bone bruise cream into his hands, "I AGREE WITH FRISK, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY FILTHY."

Sans let out a reluctant sigh.

Frisk said, "I have to get something at the store then I'll meet you by the ferry or you can teleport but I'm not waiting." They picked up the thermos and put it in their backpack, slinging it over their shoulder. "See you soon, Pap!" they said over their shoulder as they closed the door behind them.

They went to the store and bought two cinnamon-bunnies from the store still warm. Ms. Lapin wrapped them up in thin, crinkly brown paper and Frisk carried them down to the ferry landing where Sans was standing, still looking rumpled but clean.

Frisk stepped onto the ferry.

Sans said,"i can just-"

"Waterfall, please." Frisk said politely.

The River person started to push off and Sans clumsily jumped on, almost dropping a slipper in the water. "geez!"

Frisk pulled their phone out and put the cinnamon buns in their phone storage box.

"not even gonna listen to me anymore?" Sans muttered.

Frisk said "Don't have to."

"we could just teleport." he said a little testily.

"Don't have to." Frisk said. They let their fingers trail in the bitingly cold water. "...I like this ride." they said, as the ferry slipped into Waterfall and the stone walls shone with small gems reflecting blue white light.

Sans signed and sat down, "weren't you going to new home, not waterfall?"

"Gonna borrow some tea from Undyne." Frisk tightening their grip on the backpack strap.

"right." Sans said resignedly and leaned back.

They got off at Waterfall. Frisk stopped at Gerson's first and said hello to the old turtle. He talked to them at length about their adventures since he had helped them with the shortcut to keep their leg clean. Frisk hadn't even thought of that cut on their leg, the bandage had fallen off a long time ago and all that was left was a thin scab nearly healed. Sans wasn't interested in chatting and showed his annoyance by tapping his foot impatiently and only answering Gerson's questions in short one-two word answers.

Frisk ignored Sans and went to visit with Napstablook as well. That was a much shorter visit, since Blook wasn't very good at talking but they were happy to see Frisk.

Frisk knocked on Undyne's door.

The teeth-like door slid open and Undyne leaned out, her face breaking into a smile when she saw Frisk. She was wearing a grey tank top and had her hair down. "Hey, punk! What brings you here?"

Frisk asked, "Can I borrow some golden flower tea?"

"Sure thing! Come in." She spotted Sans corner of her eye, lurking by the side of the house, and her whole mood soured, "Oh, you're here too are you?" she snarled. "Decided to leave your lair and terrorize the natives again?"

"i'll wait out here." he said distantly, not looking her in the eye.

"You could apologize." Frisk said. "Or explain at least."

Undyne raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"you're serious?" Sans pressed his knuckles against his brow ridge, "you're serious." he sighed.

" _You don't have to come with us._ " Chara said.

Undyne leaned against the doorframe. "Well?"

Sans said, "we're not exactly pals. i don't have to explain anything to you."

Undyne stiffened and narrowed her eye. "I am your boss."

He looked down at the ground, "...it's been rough lately, alright?" he sighed.

She stared Sans down, "...I can see that the punks forgave you but you still haven't apologized to Alphys for how you treated her." she nodded inside. "She's here."

Sans took a deep breath and nodded, "fine."

Undyne stepped inside and Frisk followed her in.

"O-Oh! Frisk and Chara?" Alphys said from the table, sitting up straighter, her tea cup clattered as she hurriedly sat it down.

Sans stepped inside.

"...A-and Sans..." she said nervously, curling her tail around to her feet.

Sans sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, "look, i'm sorry about before, i shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"T-that's ok." Alphys relaxed slightly, "I know what it's like...um, if-if you ever want to talk..."

Sans shrugged vaguely and leaned against the window, resting his chin on the sill and staring outside with a far away look.

Frisk took their bag off and opened it, pulling out the thermos and holding it up, "Tea!"

Undyne grinned and grabbed it from their hand, "A thermos, huh? Where you taking this tea anyway?" she asked as she walked to the sink and filled up the kettle with water.

"We're gonna go see Asgore and make friends." Frisk said. "If we bring tea then he has to at least listen while we drink tea."

"Fuhuhuhu!" Undyne laughed and slapped her leg, "The old softly won't be able to resist Undyne's amazing tea skills! You can leave this to me!" she slammed the kettle on the stove and turned up the heat until fire licked the sides.

Alphys stood up with alarm and hurried over to the stove, "Undyne, the h-heat doesn't need to be that high!" She slid in between Frisk and Undyne and turned the heat back down to a normal high temperature that didn't involve flames licking the ceiling.

"So what happened yesterday, huh?" Undyne asked, watching the kettle intently. "You finished the fight with Mr. Fancy Pants and then disappeared without a word."

"Sorry..." Frisk said softly, fiddling with the hem of their shirt. "I had to go home."

Alphys looked up from the oven, the glow of her soul faded and the heat dial on the stove solidified into a slightly different shape that no longer turned past medium-high. "A-and about ten minutes later we got a text from P-papyrus saying the party was canceled." Alphys said, "We thought is was a bit strange- or, well, worrying, I guess."

The kettle began whistling softly. Undyne picked it up and poured it into the thermos and dropped two teabags in the hot water, setting the lid on top so it could steep.

Alphys pulled her phone out of her pocket, "His text s-said he fell down and sprained his face?"

Undyne said, "Seems fishy to me."

Sans snorted.

Frisk covered their mouth so Undyne couldn't see them grin.

Undyne narrowed her eyes, "Ha. Ha. Come on punks." She nudged them gently, "What's up."

"you know my bro." Sans said, "two left feet, mister clumsy bones." He gave them a warning look.

Frisk looked from Sans to Undyne, to Alphys and took a deep breath.

The world froze.

Frisk sucked in a breath and Sans' magic washed over them. A stab of pain went through their head then faded to a dull, persistent ache.

"they don't need to know." Sans said quietly.

Frisk glared at him, "they don't need to know most of it."

"kid."

They closed their eyes, their inflamed senses could see every thread of magic that went into Sans magic. It was as intricate as a butterfly's wing and yet it almost felt like a hammer, a hand holding the time of the world and holding it still by sheer brute force.

"i mean it kid." Sans warned.

Frisk frowned. It made their head feel like it might explode but they quickly checked the whole underground, once they were certain all the souls were safe, they made a new save point.

Then, they reached out and forced their determination into the timeline, breaking Sans' magic at its weakest point. Time began to move.

Frisk turned to Undyne, "Pap was attacked. He almost died."

Undyne's eye widened, "WHAT?!"

"I almost died too." Frisk said.

Alphys hands went to her mouth.

Undyne gripped the kitchen counter with one hand, it creaked ominously as her fingers scored into the solid wood. "Who?" she hissed, her eye flashing.

Frisk said with slow carefulness, "I couldn't see. It was in the mists at the border to waterfall. They disappeared after- after everything." They went on a little more certainly, "I'm worried that it was might attack someone else. I thought maybe you could warn everyone, to stay home and be careful and stuff."

Undyne stared darkly into space the skin of a second then let go of the counter and hurried to her bedroom, pulling her hair back as she went. She came out a second later with her jacket and phone, "Sorry Alphys," She said quickly, "I need to go find this whatever it is and-"

"No!" Frisk said, grabbed her arm, "It's dangerous! If you could just warn people-!"

"My job is to protect all the monsters of the Underground," she pulled her arm away, "Stopping this thing is the best way to do that, the sooner the better." She glared at them then looked away, trying to mask her expression, "You should have told me right after it happened." She hurried outside, door snapping shut behind her, already on the phone with the Snowdin force.

Alphys gave a little gasp and Frisk turned to see Sans slumped against the wall, passed out cold. Alphys rushed over to him, half in a panic to try and help without knowing how.

Frisk sighed. They rubbed their throbbing temples.

Chara was silent.

"Are you mad at me?" Frisk asked.

 _I...no, I'm not mad at you,_ Chara hesitated, _I don't know, I don't know how I feel..._

"...ok." Frisk said softly.

They took a deep breath and reloaded their save.

"I won't tell them." Frisk said.

Sans stared at them, blinked slowly and then flinched, bringing a hand up to eye, "what'd you do, kid?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Nothing."

"that." Sans said, with a shake of the head, "didn't feel like 'nothing'."

Frisk opened their mouth but Sans cut them off before they could even speak.

"and don't lie to me." he said, "there's no point. i can feel that deja-vu like a kick in the gut and it wasn't nice whatever you did."

"It didn't work. So I un-did it." Frisk said, a little meekly, their fingers grasping the edge of their shirt and rolling it between their fingers.

Sans narrowed his eyes.

Frisk looked down at their fingers, they dropped the edge of their shirt and looked at Sans.

He stared at them silently.

They lifted their chin slightly in defiance.

He studied their face, then sighed, and waved his hand dissolving his spell and letting time move forward. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and leaned back against the wall, sinking into his coat.

Frisk relaxed as the pressure of Sans magic faded.

Undyne blinked and frowned slightly, "Wha-?"

"You should visit Pap." Frisk told Undyne and Alphys, "He'd like that. He was really sad to cancel the party."

Alphys looked up at Undyne.

Undyne shrugged, pinching the bridge of her nose briefly, then turned back to the tea. She pulled the teabags out, flicked them in the sink and screwed the lid back one. "Here you go, punk." Undyne said as she handed them the large, and now heavy, thermos.

Frisk gripped it tightly, the metal sides were warm, "Thank you, Captain."

Undyne grinned and mussed their hair with one hand, "No problem. That's what besties are for right?"

"Right!" Frisk carefully slid the thermos into their backpack and zipped it closed.

(a/n: update next saturday, 5/21.

I felt like this whole chapter that Sans and Frisk were wasp nests and they were poking each other with a stick, pleased to poke and secretly hoping to be stung so they can retaliate and meanwhile I'm on the sidelines begging them to stop poking and being completely ignored. So. Much. Fun.)


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Frisk pulled the backpack on and shifted the straps to make the weight more comfortable.

Alphys said nervously. "You're- you're going to see Asgore, right?"

They nodded.

She stepped closer, ringing her hands together, "Do... do you want me to come?" she asked, so only they could hear.

Chara clenched their jaw, " _I... think I'll be ok... I think..._ "

Alphys wrapped her arms around them and hugged them tightly, "You can do it, Chara. I kn-know you can."

"... _Thank you, Alphys,_ " Chara patted her awkwardly, " _really, thank you._ "

She let go and stepped back, wringing her hands together and pressing them tight to her chest.

" _I might call you later,_ " Chara said, " _if that's ok?_ "

"O-of course!" Alphys bubbled, "I'll pick up, I promise! A-and you can always come over o-or stay over."

They thanked Alphys and Undyne for their help and said their goodbyes. Sans had left ahead of them and joined Frisk when they walked past him heading back to the ferry. He offered to teleport them again but Frisk shook their head no as they got on the boat.

They got off at Hotland and rode the elevators up to MTT Resort and then went to the core and took them elevators up to New Home.

The doors opened with a perfunctory chime in an otherwise tense silence. White stone surrounded them, rising up on all sides as they stepped out. It was strangely quiet in the castle and both Frisk and Chara felt ill at ease. It was too much like last time. Frisk gripped the straps on their backpack tight. Their footsteps echoed loudly, mixing with Sans shuffling scuffle. Frisk could feel Chara tensing up as they got closer to their old home.

"i can kinda understand not wanting to teleport for the boat ride." Sans said suddenly, breaking the unbearable silence, "but hotland? the core?" he shook his head, "we could've been here a half an hour ago."

Frisk glanced at him briefly.

"unless..." Sans stopped, "you didn't- did you do it for me?" he asked, "so i wouldn't have to use my magic?"

Frisk shrugged and walked on.

Sans hurried to catch up to them, "i didn't fight that little fuc- _i'm_ fine." he said, "we could've-"

Frisk glanced at him from the corner of their eye, "...no need to push things."

Sans rubbed his head, "you're the kid here, not me. this isn't the first time i've been 'tired'. i can manage just fine." he said, annoyance coloring his words.

Frisk shrugged, "Don't have to."

"that again." Sans grumbled.

" _Just drop it._ " Chara muttered.

They paused outside of the little white house, mirror image to the one in the Ruins and Frisk felt a wave of nostalgia and dread wash over them. A little of it was theirs, but most of it was Chara's.

"Are you ok?" they asked Chara softly.

Chara nodded and reached out, pressing their fingertips against the doorframe. They stepped inside and looked around the dusty washed out entryway. Chara headed down the hall to their old bedroom and stepped inside. The air inside smelled stale. Chara touched Asriel's bed, crowded with soft toys, the box at the end of the bed was filled with all the less cuddly ones. The toys were faded, stiff and coated with a light layer of dust. Chara wiped their fingers off on their shirt and pretended their eyes weren't blurring with tears.

The moved on, the bookshelf looked like it hadn't been touched since- Chara spotted a glint of gold in the corner of the shelf and knelt down, lifting up the corner book. It was the locket. Flowey must have been the one to wrap Chara's things up before and he hadn't yet been here this time. Things were turning out so ...different.

Even as the thought cross their mind, Chara felt Frisk run their senses over the world, making their head ache. Everyone was still ok. Flowey was nearby, watching them. They clenched their jaw.

Chara picked the locket up, sliding the chain over their head and tucking it inside their shirt. Its slight weight pressed against their heart and felt warm. Chara pressed their hand over it. They stood up and looked at the picture frame on the corner of the bookcase, everyone was smiling and happy. They had been happy too and then...

Chara turned to their old bed and stared at it.

Sans cleared his throat impatiently.

" _I died here._ " Chara said brittlely.

"feeling the weight of your sins?" Sans asked.

Chara turned and walked over to him, " _Don't move._ " they ordered and slapped him. Chara pushed past him, clutching their stinging hand to their chest. " _Sorry Frisk,_ " they said softly, walking back out to the entryway.

It was a cruel thing to say... Frisk said.

Chara pressed their hand against the locket, it's shape digging into their skin.

Frisk said, Let's go to the kitchen.

" _But there isn't a chain across the stairs._ "

We need a cup, an Asgore sized cup.

" _Oh. Right._ " Chara hurried to the kitchen and pulled open the cabinets until they found a blue mug as big as a soup bowl. Chara opened their backpack and slid it inside next to the thermos.

Let's go. Frisk said, Unless you want your knife?

Chara shook their head and hurried back out to the foyer " _This is enough._ " they brushed their fingers over the locket again.

Sans was nowhere to be seen.

They went down the stairs.

The hallway was dim and musty but the stones beneath their feet where worn smooth from the passage of hundreds of feet over hundreds of years. The tunnel opened up into a walkway, running along the top of the castle walls. Below and all around them was the city, white and twinkling with light and life from all the monsters living below.

Frisk shook their head, "How come they never put railings on anything?"

 _HA!_ The laugh that bubbled out of Chara felt like a shock, bursting the bubble of the tense moment, _It's true! There are never any railings!_

"And in Waterfall there are no bridges."

 _And Hotland is a accident waiting to happen. Their city planning is as bad as their place names. Then again, neither are really his strong point._

Frisk nodded.

 _I think, he would've been happier never being king._

Frisk traced their fingers across the stones as they walked into the long hall filled with yellow light before the throne room. Frisk's pace slowed down and stopped as they turned their head up to look at one of the stained-glass delta rune windows.

An angel would come from above that would free them all, that was the prophecy. Frisk frowned slightly as they studied the design. They wondered why the monsters thought that leaving the underground would solve all their problems.

"you finally made it." Sans said, his voice echoing through the empty room.

Frisk could see him out of the corner of their eye, standing in the middle of the room, just like the first time he had stood in judgement of them. They closed their eyes as the feeling of deja-vu swept over them, the feeling of foreboding, impending- ...something. Their chest ached with the feeling. They wondered if he felt it too.

"so, i've got a question for ya." his voice was clipped and impatient, "do you really think even the worst person can change...? that everybody can be a good person, if they just try?" he snorted in disbelief.

Frisk closed their eyes.

He continued, his tone softening but still bitter, "you never gained any LOVE. course that doesn't mean you're innocent or naïve. no matter the hardships or struggles that you face you strove to do the 'right' thing. you refused to hurt anyone..." he sighed. "have you really done the right thing?"

The last question made Frisk open their eyes. It sounded like he had asked it to himself.

"...would it make you feel better if I hated you?" Frisk asked softly.

Sans said nothing. Frisk turned their head to look at him. His eyes were black, but not in the scary, angry way; instead, he looked lost, and the shadows under his eyes deepened as if he were absorbing exhaustion the way plants absorb sunlight.

" _I already hit you._ " Chara said flippantly, " _What more do you want?_ "

"heh." he scoffed, "a baby could hit harder than that."

" _Of course it was weak!_ " Chara snapped, " _I didn't want to hurt you!_ "

Almost as a reflex, his hand came up and touched the knitted scarf.

They stood, the silence stretching out. Sans stared at nothing.

Frisk turned back to the window and let the sunlight slowly warm their face. They clenched and unclenched their jaw, feeling angry and wanting to cry at the same time but they weren't going to give him the satisfaction of either. Instead, they held still and waited, until the sun seemed to melt both feelings down into a pool of heavy lead in their stomach and all that was left was the aching pain in their head and a sudden and wretched loneliness.

"...Maybe I don't want to get mad at you because it's not worth it," Frisk said softly, "because I love Pap, because, because... because you're just looking for a new excuse to hate me."

Frisk paused and the silence pushed in on them, urging them forward, and they gave into their deep and foolish desire to trust one more time, "And, maybe- maybe it's not about you."

Sans shifted, his slippers shuffing on the smooth tiles.

"Maybe..." Frisk hesitated and gripped the edge of their shirt. The words came out reluctantly and full of desperate unsaid things, "it hurts."

Bird song filled the silence of the room.

Sans untensed slightly, "what hurts?" he asked, "you had that soup, you were only attacked by magic, not physically, right?"

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, trying not to cry. They were so tired of crying.

Sans said, "hey-"

" _Please._ " Chara said softly. They looked at Sans, hopeful and worried, " _Will you please-_ " they hesitated, " _You're the only person that knows and-_ " They looked down that at the ground.

The weight of the world sank a little heavier on their shoulders and Frisk bowed under it, sitting down on the tile floors as if pushed. Outside, it was summer but here the heat was distant and dampened by the stone all around. The floor was cool. Frisk pressed their hands onto the smooth tile.

Sans walked over and sat down across from them, leaning back against a pillar. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the window, "what happened, kid?" he asked quietly, the way you'd speak to a skittish animal, "what hurts?"

"...I saved after I fought Mettaton, I was too far away." Frisk looked down at their hands, bathed in yellow-orange light, leaning their weight on them and hunching their shoulders like they could sink into their own chest, "I couldn't reach him without teleporting, I couldn't-" their voice broke and they stopped, swallowing hard, blinking their tears back, "I couldn't go that far and I didn't have a teleport point and so I-" they sniffed and looked up at Sans, "but I had to save him, y'know?" they smiled weakly, tears slipped down their cheeks and they rubbed them off on their shoulders.

"yeah." Sans said.

"Sensing magic is what I'm best at so I pushed and pushed and-" they winced at the memory and pressed the hands tight against the floor, the tile growing warm under their fingers, "it hurt..." Frisk bit their bottom lip, "it still hurts and when there's a lot of magic it... gets worse."

Sans sucked in a breath, "that's why you didn't want to take a shortcut."

Frisk nodded.

Sans shifted his weight and leaned forward, "i'd like look at your soul, if that's ok?"

They slowly peeled their hands off the floor and pressed them over their heart and glanced up at Sans. They looked down at their hand and hesitantly pulled their soul into the world, forcing themselves to sit up straight, "ok."

Sans edged forwards, his hand hovered around their soul; as his hands moved, their soul twisted and spun gently in the air. As he studied their soul his expression slowly furrowed and he looked as if he were in pain, "damn it." he muttered to himself and shook his head. "here." he leaned back so Frisk could see and pointed with one finger, tracing an almost imperceptible line in the glowing red. His voice was terribly gentle and laced with sadness, "you've cracked your soul."

Frisk cupped their hands around the glowing heart, filling their hands with red light and clumsily tilted it so they could see the crack. As their eyes adjusted they could see, not only where Sans had pointed, but thin spidery branches of smaller cracks across their souls' surface. Frisk stared at the crack, feeling strangely detached from what it meant.

"My soul always shatters when I die." Frisk said, "like when you drop a plate on the ground.

Sans flinched at their description.

They said flatly, "but when I reload it's always better again. I died twice after-" they ran a finger down the crack, sending a prickle down their spine.

"don't ask me, kid." Sans shrugged, "you're probably the first one in the history of the world to even be able to say something like that."

Frisk curled their hands around the small heart, making their fingers glow pink, filling their hands with the heat of their determination, "maybe I broke it again every time I went back so I could reach him." they said almost to themselves, "and now it's been saved forever."

" _Will it heal?_ " Chara asked anxiously.

"well..." Sans said.

" _Will it?_ "

Sans shrugged helplessly, "it might, it might not. sorry i can't really tell you more than that. it's rare for a soul to crack and not break. i can only think of one other time it's happened."

Chara asked, " _Who-?_ "

Sans summoned his soul with a casual flick. He held his hand under the white, upside down heart and turned it around on his hand, graceful as a ballet pirouette. On the back of his soul was a deep gouge, twice as deep and long as Frisks', running from the point of the heart down to one arched bow. "my low hp isn't just 'cause my hope sucks." he said with a grim smile, "even when i'm at my best, i can only get up to five."

Frisk looked down at their own injured soul, hovering at about half it's normal hp.

"it'll probably recover some, go back up a bit." Sans said, "the pain will get better. right now your soul is inflamed, swollen, sort of." He flipped his soul around again so the crack was hidden and let it fade back into his body as he leaned back against the pillar.

"How'd it happen?" Frisk asked, their own soul sinking back into them out of sight.

He sighed and his expression relaxed into an easy smile, "i was a dumb kid." he shrugged, "i was frustrated 'cause i could only manage one damage with my attacks. had all this magic and couldn't do jack with it. so i kept pushing myself. when they told me to lay off, i just stared practicin in secret. i thought i knew better."

" _Seems like a bit of a persistent problem._ " Chara said.

"you got me there." he grinned, "so anyway, i pushed too hard and nearly died. wasn't a complete waste though, ended up being able to compress damage." he saw their confused expression and explained, "i can still only do one damage but constantly, it builds up, like a poison. i call it," he spread his hands out in the air like he was framing a movie marquee, "karmic-retribution."

Chara laughed. " _That's good._ "

Sans grinned.

I don't get it. Frisk said

 _Because anyone he fought would be punished by their actions but it also refers to him being punished for pushing his powers too far._

Oh.

Sans said, "lucky, papyrus was still a baby when it happened, i would've hated for him to see that."

Frisk asked, "Does he know-?"

"nah." Sans shook his head, "i don't want to worry him. my brother deserves to be happy. he-" Sans paused and looked down at his hands, "i thought i was doing the right thing. it's been just the two of us for so long."

" _You coddled him._ "

"well... i mean, not all the time." Sans protested feebly.

Frisk took out their phone and opened the storage, taking out the cinnamon bunnies. They handed one to Sans.

"even now you-" He shook his head slightly as he took it.

Frisk unwrapped the thin brown paper around their bun and began pulling it apart, eating it in small tiny bites.

" _You should've got a sandwich instead._ "

Frisk agreed with a tiny nod.

"don't like cinnabuns?" Sans asked, eating his quickly in a few large bites.

Frisk ferried another tiny piece to their mouth, "...ate them a lot when I first went through the underground; fighting, an' running, an' trying to eat between attacks... it was scary."

Sans nodded, "shouda got a sandwich."

Frisk smiled faintly.

" _Could it be healed?_ " Chara asked, taking over the task of eating the sweet bunny bun, " _Frisk's soul? If there was someone who had healing soul magic-?_ "

"the small cracks at least." Sans said. "don't know if i ever asked this before, but how old are you?"

Frisk paused and looked up as they tried to remember, "Eight?"

"eight years old?" Sans said, whistling between his teeth, "but probably a bit older than that, up here." he tapped his forehead.

Frisk nodded.

"still..." he shook his head, "if you were a monster, you'd still be just a pup. monsters grow up a lot slower than humans, in general."

" _They're small too, for a human their age._ " Chara added.

"Hey." Frisk frowned.

" _What? It's true, shorty._ "

Frisk scowled. Chara laughed.

"i know how you feel, kid." Sans said sympathetically.

"Thanks, I guess." Frisk muttered.

They were all silent for a few minutes as Chara ate but it was a good silence.

Frisk said, "I'm sorry about back at Undyne's."

"what did you think you could accomplish?" Sans asked, "i mean, you thought you could get something out of it, right? you're not the type to do something just because someone told you not to."

Frisk looked down at their hands and crumpled the brown paper into a ball, "I thought she could help. I thought if she could warn all the monsters and if they knew to stay safe and run away, I wouldn't have to worry so much." They scrunched the ball tighter, "I thought maybe, I wouldn't have to do it all by myself anymore... but whenever I try to ask for help I have to do it myself anyway. No one ever listens."

Sans rubbed the side of his head guilty, "and i'm the worst of them, huh?"

Chara just gave him a look.

"heh." Sans grinned weakly and looked away, "i suppose, i've spent so long doin nothing, 'cause trying just seemed to make things worse or accomplish nothing, it just seemed like the best way to go. then you pop up and want to try things out, get the best outcome... it scared the marrow out of me."

Frisk giggled.

"well, if i were you, i would have thrown in the towel by now. but you didn't get this far by giving up, did you?" He watched their expression very closely. "so i'm thinkin, maybe I should try things your way for a while."

Frisk face lit up, "Really?!"

"yeah, kid." His face split into a huge grin.

Chara narrowed their eyes, " _But it's still a test isn't it? One wrong step and you're just going to turn on us again._ "

"if there was a test, you already passed with full marks." Sans said solemnly, "you were willing to die for my bro, you did die for him, even cracked your soul. that's all i want." he looked them dead in the eye with an intensity that made them squirm, "just promise you'll always protect him, protect his future. keep him safe and happy, that's all i'll ask from you. promise me that, and i promise i'll always be there when you need help, i'll never say no."

"do you mean it?" Frisk asked quietly.

Sans nodded.

"really, really?" they prompted.

"really, really." he assured them. "do you mean it?" he asked them.

Frisk nodded emphatically, "I love Pap. I want us to all be a family together."

Sans left out a breath, his whole body relaxing as the air left him, "good."

Frisk hesitantly held up their hand, one pinky raised, "pinky promise?"

"heh." a smile crept over his face and he raised his hand, linking his pinky with theirs, "pinky promise."

They squeezed the fragile link between them tightly.

Frisk sniffed and laughed with relief and pulled their sleeves down to wipe the tears off their cheeks. "I didn't want to cry anymore!" they scolded.

"i really am _tear-_ ible." Sans said with a cheeky wink.

They grinned weakly.

" _You always seem to give Frisk a good_ wailing _._ " Chara said dryly.

"heh heh." Sans leaned forward slightly, "i don't mean to be such a _sob*_."

There was a moment of silence and then Chara snorted, " _Shit that was good!_ " they laughed.

Sans grinned and leaned back again, entirely too pleased with himself.

Frisk looked up at the windows, "We should probably go." they said reluctantly. They braced their hand on the ground to push themselves up.

Sans reached out and grasped their wrist, "you should let your soul recover. or find a healer. this," he gestured vaguely towards the end of the hall, "can wait."

"Can it?" Frisk asked, "If Flowey kills someone else and I have to go back and stop him, will that be less painful or more?"

Sans narrowed his eyes, his grip tightened on their wrist for a fraction of a second then he hurriedly let go, pulling his hand back, "this, flowey, there's something you haven't told me about him. there's something you're hiding, isn't there?"

Frisk sat back on their heels and wrapped their hand over their wrist where Sans had grabbed them, "...Can..." They closed their eyes, "can I save and if you get mad, can I reload?"

"i'd rather not." he said.

"I don't want you to hate me again."

Sans took a deep breathe and ran his fingers across his thumb with a faint tic-tic-tic, "alright. we'll do it your way. gotta start with baby-steps after all."

Frisk closed their eyes, the determination began to swell and they froze, they pressed their hand to their chest in panic.

"kid?" Sans asked in concern.

"Sorry." Frisk said apologetically, "I just, I haveta check and make sure everyone's safe before I save and I almost forgot to."

Sans voice cracked, "every-everyone?"

Frisk nodded, they pressed their hand to the temple in anticipation of the dull pain that grew as they felt over the underground. The souls were starting to have a familiarity to them, many of them, Frisk simply had to brush past to recognize. Flowey, all power and determination without center, was in the New Home house, lingering in his old room. Chara wondered if he had noticed the locket was gone.

They made a save point.

"Ok, ready?" Frisk asked, rubbing their temples.

"whenever you are, kid."

Frisk glanced down at the floor, then at the window, and then Sans slippers, they forced themselves to look him in the eye, to hold his gaze and not squirm, "Flowey is- when Asriel died, the first flower that grew from where his dust fell... Alphys took it and injected it with determination and so it's- he's-"

"that murderous little shit-stain is the prince?"

They nodded.

Sans took a deep breath, "wow." he rubbed his neck, and as he pulled his hand away it brushed the scarf and he looked down at it.

" _He's my brother._ " Chara said, " _I know... I know he's done bad things but he's my brother. And it's my fault he even- Can you understand?_ "

Sans eyes flicked back and forth in thought, rubbing the scarf absently between his fingers.

Chara squeezed their wrist tightly, looking at the tiles between them and Sans.

Sans nodded, "...yeah. i can. if pap, lost his soul and... no matter what he did or what monsters said about him, i'd do anything to get him back. so i get it."

Frisk sagged with relief.

"and you're after a soul right?" Sans said, "that's what you said last night."

Frisk nodded, "So he can feel again, so everyone can be happy."

Sans stood up and stretched his neck. "well, i think i've got the picture." he offered his hand to them. "you have a plan?"

Frisk took his hand gingerly, let him pull them to their feet, "Just talk to Asgore and try to convince him."

"are you gonna tell him about the little weed?"

Frisk shook their head as they walked down the hall together, "...if it doesn't work-"

"-it'd be better if never knew." Sans said, "yeah, that's for the best."

Frisk said nervously, "There might be a lot of resetting."

Sans nodded, "thanks for the heads up."

" _And keep watch for Azzy, he might try to sneak in and steal the souls._ " Chara said.

"got it." Sans stretched and yawned, "i'll wait outside the throne room and listen in. if you need me, just say the code word: fartface."

" _No._ "

"heh." Sans grinned and shrugged, "it was worth a try."

"We'll just call your name ok?" Frisk said.

Sans made the ok sign, "righto, i'll keep my ears peeled."

The hall ended and there was another short white stone corridor before the entrance to the throne, helpfully labeled with a plaque by the door and even though they didn't want to, their eyes drifted to the dark basement staircase leading down to where the coffins lay, all in a row, neat and tidy in the stale dark.

Sans leaned back against the doorframe. Frisk could faintly hear the sound of Asgore humming from inside, and the pungent smell of the golden flowers filled their nose. They could feel that Flowey had moved to the judgement hall. Frisk felt it was safe enough to make one more save point.

"ready?" Sans asked.

Frisk nodded, gripped the straps of their backpack and stepped forward.

.

(a/n: next update Saturday, may 28th.

*sounds like slob, also an acronym, s.o.b.- son of a bitch

I'm sorry for my more erratic than usual response to reviews and comments. I do read them all and love them dearly. I try to reply to all of them, if three or four days after I receive them, but this week was, strange to say the least. Very strange.

I ended up listening to Bastille's song Icarus on repeat while I wrote this chapter. The second half of the song feel so very this, it just sucked me in. It's also just a very lovely song so I do recommend it.

Thanks for reading and the support and everything!)


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

They could hear the birds singing outside the barrier. Here the cave had crumbled in many places and the garden was dappled with pools of sunlight. They looked up and saw hints of blue and white faintly through the barrier surrounding the underground like a soap bubble.

"Dum dee dum..." Asgore hummed softly to himself. The water sprinkling across the flower petals filled the room with a gentle susurrus as he emptied his watering can. His wide shoulders and swirling cloak seemed to fill the room, yet he moved with a surprising delicacy for someone so big.

Frisk walked further into the room. The flowers parted around them, the soft petals brushing against their legs.

"Oh?" Asgore paused briefly, "Is someone there? Just a moment!" he called over his shoulder, "I have almost finished watering these flowers." He raised the watering can a little higher to empty the last drops, "Here we are..." He turned, a gentle smile on his face, "Howdy, how can I-!" The watering can clattered onto the ground. Plant stems snapped as he startled back, away from them. His face contorted with pure shock and horror.

When Frisk had first come here, they had thought he was upset because they were human. Now they knew, it was because they looked like Chara at first glance; a ghost come back to haunt him.

"Oh." He said softly, his voice choked and tight. He spun away from them. When he turned back, he couldn't quite look at them, "...I so badly want to say..." he swallowed hard.

Frisk dropped their bag in front of them with a thump and reached inside, "Would you like a cup of tea?" they asked, pulling out the large thermos.

He hesitated, his hand curling and uncurling like they were searching for something.

"Papyrus lent me the thermos." Frisk said as they carefully unscrewed the top, "Undyne let me have some golden flower tea, she said it's your favorite, right? Her and Alphys helped me make it. I hope it's ok, we borrowed a cup for you from the kitchen." They pulled the large cup out of the bag and held it out to Asgore.

He stared at the cup blankly.

They gestured impatiently. Asgore slowly unfroze and mechanically took the mug. Fisk lifted the thermos and carefully poured him a cup of tea. It steamed gently. "Careful, it's really hot." Frisk sat down in the flowers, the petals tickling their knees. They turning the thermos cap over and poured a small amount of tea into it.

Asgore slowly sank down to his knees, clutching the cup in both hands like a life line, "Undyne?" he said softly, "Dr. Alphys, and Sans' brother Papyrus...?"

Frisk nodded, "Sans came with me too, he's outside." They blew on their tea and sipped it hesitantly, jerking back when it burnt their lip.

Asgore reached out to them, his face etched with concern. His hand froze half way and he pulled it back, fingers trembling as if he were fighting himself.

Frisk took a deep breath, "Doggo, Dogeressa, Dogamy, Lesser and Greater, Snowy, Icecap, Ms. Lapin, Aaron, Woshua, Gerson, Bratty and Catty, Vulkin, Muffet, Grillby... there are lots more but they're all my friends. I've been living in Snowdin, with Pap and Sans. It's my home now."

"You... have befriended them? The monsters of the underground have accepted you?" A note of hope edged into his voice.

Frisk smiled and nodded, "Uhuh."

Asgore looked down at the steaming mug in his hands, "But... coming here? If you are happy in the Underground why did you come here? You must know-" he faltered. "You must know."

Chara looked around at all the golden flowers, the air was thick with the scent of them. It hadn't always been that way. The builders had designed the room to be the throne room but with all the sun that snuck in, Asgore had decided to turn it into a garden and Toriel hadn't have the heart to say no because Chara had been so excited and since Chara and Asgore were excited Asriel was too. There had been so many different flowers and plants from the Underground and the surface. Now there were only golden flowers.

" _We never had a water garden._ " Chara said softly, " _that's why I didn't know what the water sausages were called._ "

"Pardon?" Asgore asked, his voice wavered, "You manner of speaking suddenly changed. It... they sounded..."

Chara stared down at their cup, " _Do you remember the first time you took Azzy and I to Waterfall?_ " They slowly turned the cup between their hands, tracing the rim with their thumb," _The two of us were looking at the plants. Azzy got bored and was messing around and ended up falling in the water. He was soaked and I couldn't stop laughing,_ " they smiled in recollection, " _so he pushed me and I fell in too. Then he cried!_ " they laughed," _He felt so bad about it. I didn't even care but he cried for me. I called him a crybaby but mostly, he cried for me when I wouldn't cry for myself... I didn't want him to cry for me._ "

Chara looked up at Asgore; his hands were shaking badly.

Frisk felt the heat rise in their face and eyes burn. Chara pressed their lips together and very slowly sucked in a shaky breath, tears dripped free of their lashes. Chara cleared their throat and wiped their eyes on their sleeve, " _You carried us back home. Toriel was mad at us and we didn't get any dessert that night but you never even raised your voice. ...You never got mad at me. Asg-_ " They swallowed hard, their throat was knotted and so tight it hurt, " _Mister-_ " their voice cracked.

Asgore froze.

" _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I- It's-_ " The words felt stuck, lodged like stones but they had to say them, they had to, " _It's my fault Azzy died._ " Their hands trembled so hard the tea spilled over the edge of the cup and onto their fingers.

Frisk gently stilled their hands, meshing their minds together and laying over them like a hug.

You can do it, Frisk told them gently.

Chara took a deep shaky breath, they did their best not to cry, " _I didn't get sick, I ate buttercups. I poisoned myself, I-_ " They shuddered, " _I wanted to give him my soul, I wanted to- Everyone said I was the hope of- the future of- we, we only needed six more._ " Chara sat the cup down, clutching the locket under their shirt, " _I didn't want him to get hurt, I never- I never-_ " they pressed their arm over their eyes. They didn't want to see, it hurt too much, they were afraid. " _I wanted to free everyone._ "

Frisk tugged their arm down and opened their eyes.

Asgore was crying. Tears ran down his cheeks, soaking into his fur, "...Chara?"

Chara tried their best to smile, " _Greetings._ "

Asgore's mug shattered on the ground. Chara was scooped up, surrounded by warm white fur and the rough thick fabric of Asgore's cape. His armor hard and sharp under the cloth.

"I do not know how this is possible..." he said softly, his voice low and rumbling.

Frisk and Chara leaned into him, clutching his fur tightly, it was dense and soft. His long golden mane tickled their nose.

"How is this possible?" he asked, relaxing his grip slightly.

" _Toriel buried me in the Ruins where I fell into the Underground._ " Chara said softly, " _It's where all the humans fell into the Underground, where Frisk fell into the Underground._ "

"I'm Frisk!" Frisk said, "I'm glad you're not mad at Chara."

Asgore looked down at them with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Chara said, " _Somehow, when Frisk fell, I woke up and went with them. They've shared not only their soul with me but the let me use their body too._ "

"Because we're best friends." Frisk said.

"Golly." Asgore said softly, "Frisk was it?"

Frisk nodded.

"Well, howdy, it is nice to meet you. Although," Asgore smiled, "I feel as if I have met you already."

Frisk smiled sadly, "It's nice to meet you too."

" _I'm sorry about what I did,_ " Chara repeated softly, " _I sorry for ruining everything._ "

Asgore patted their back with a light and gentle touch as if he was afraid of breaking them. "If anyone is at fault, it is me, for putting so much pressure upon you."

" _No,_ " Chara said flatly. They braced their hands on his chest, pushing back to look up into his face, " _No. Mister. I did it. I made the choice, I- It was me._ "

"Chara..." Asgore said gently.

Chara continued fiercely, " _I don't want to blame anyone else. I don't want to find excuses. I made my choice. I did it and I hate myself for doing it and all I can do is try to make up for what I did._ "

"You were just a child," He said with a kind smile.

" _A stupid, angry child,_ " Chara said.

Asgore sighed, "A _young_ child."

Chara squirmed back, " _No one is above consequences. Please stop trying trying to give me excuses. That's not why I came here. I just wanted to tell you the truth and apologize,_ " they said uncomfortably, " _Put me down, please._ "

Asgore tried to smile but his eyes showed ancient weariness and sadness as he gently sat them on their feet among the flowers.

" _I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did,_ " Chara said straightening their shirt to hide their frustration, " _I just wanted_ -"

Asgore leaned closer to them, "Of course, I forgive you, Chara."

Chara closed their eyes, looking down so he couldn't see their expression. " _Of course you do,_ " They said softly and shook their head. Chara pressed the edge of their sleeve against their eyes, dabbing them dry, " _Thank you. It means a lot to me._ "

"I could do no less for my child," Asgore said.

Chara snorted, " _You're such a sap, you know that?_ "

"Indeed." He smiled.

A breeze danced across the tops of the flowers making them sway.

"Um..." Frisk said awkwardly.

Asgore looked down at his hands, which twitched to reach out and touch them again, to make sure they were well and truly real.

Chara stared at Asgore and said the first thing that came to mind, "... _armor._ "

Asgore asked, "Did you say something, Chara?"

They reached out and touched the metal, " _You're wearing armor. Before you only ever wore it for ceremonies and speeches._ "

Asgore stiffened slightly, "This- This is..." He trailed off, tugging his cloak around the armor to try and hide it from sight.

" _I suppose you would've tried to kill Frisk if I hadn't been with them._ " They smiled apologetically at Asgore's pained expression, " _It's ok. You were just doing what you promised, to free all of monsterkind._ "

"It is truly not my desire to start a war with humanity." Asgore said gravely, his expression grief stricken. He clutched the edges of the cloak tightly around himself, "The cost would be too great, for both sides. It was something said in the heat of the moment. Never have I regretted something as much as I regret saying that."

" _Then why-?_ "

"I was upset and angry..." He said softly, not willing to look them in the eye, "And as news spread of what happened... I began receiving news of monsters losing hope, becoming weak and falling down. I declared war in an impulse, hoping to save my people from despair and sooth my own pain as well. But I was no better than an animal licking it's wounds."

His voice wobbled and cracked, "I incited anger and violence when I should have invited mourning and given my people, myself, time to heal..." He slowly let go of the cloak and looked down at his own hands, "My wife- Toriel was right, I am a fool."

Chara laid their hands into his, their small hands hardly bigger than fingers.

He looked at them, his eyes wobbly with tears.

" _A silly fool,_ " Chara said gently.

Asgore carefully folded his fingers over their hands, "Do you think I might be forgiven?"

"... _I'm not the one you have to ask for forgiveness from._ "

"...Yes. I know," Asgore said softly, lowering his head.

Frisk smiled and gripped his fingers, "I think, it's time for a fresh start. A new kind of hope, maybe?"

" _Yeah._ " Chara half laughed, " _Enough moping around._ "

"...And, um..." Frisk said hesitantly, "could I see the barrier?"

Asgore blinked, "The barrier? Why do you desire to see such a thing?"

" _Frisk is kind of a nerd about magic shit._ "

"Hey!" Frisk protested.

" _A nerd is a nerd,_ " Chara shrugged.

Frisk said under their breath, "Well you're a weeb."

Chara gasped theatrically, " _Well, I never!_ "

Frisk broke into giggles.

Asgore stared at them with a slightly amused and perplexed expression that everyone had the first time they watched Frisk and Chara banter, switching back and forth in Frisk's body like a tennis player returning the ball, each with their own way of speaking and body language, so distinctive from one another you might forget they were in one body.

"If you wish to see the barrier," Asgore rose smoothly to his feet, "I shall show you the way."

"Thank you!" Frisk said, jumping to their feet.

They followed his broad back through the throne room and the series of small caves and passageways that led to the large cavern that marked the underground's entrance and one of only two places the barrier could be seen.

The barrier distorted light as it passed through it and it hummed like a machine. Looking through it was like trying to look up from underwater, the light wavering and rippling as waves of power coursed through the barrier.

Frisk could feel the power flowing off of it, like the heat of the sun on a hot day. Their aching head began to thrum and pulse with the moving power as Frisk turned all their attention to it.

They walked towards it, drawn like a moth to a flame, transfixed. Frisk stopped, so close they could feel the barriers' power like a mist. They reached out one trembling hand.

 _I don't think this is a good idea._ Chara said.

Frisk ignored them and let two fingertips press onto the surface. They jerked their hand back. Tingling, prickling sensations ran down their hand. It had felt... it had felt so... they reached out again-

 _FRISK!_

-and pressed their hand against the barrier. Power. SO much- Chara jerked their hand back, stumbling and falling down onto the ground. The prickling, thrumming sensation seemed to have gone all the way their feet, their arm was numb to the elbow.

" _You stupid-!_ " Chara growled, pressing their hands to their head as it blossomed with pain sharp, and throbbing. They couldn't stop the whimper of pain.

"Chara?!" Asgore hurried over to them. His large hand easily covering and steading their back.

Chara shifted their hands so they could look up at him and try to reassure him with a faint, "I'm fine."

"good grief, what's happened now?" a leisurely voice asked from behind them.

Asgore turned and Chara could just barely see past him the figure of Sans walking slowly towards them, one hand in his pocket, the other holding their backpack, slung over his shoulder.

"Sans?" Asgore said.

Sans nodded in Asgore's direction, "sup, boss." He looked down at Chara as he got closer and raised a brow questioningly.

" _Frisk touched the barrier._ " Chara said between spasms of pain.

Sans sighed and rolled his eyes. "can't say i'm surprised. kid has the self-preservation of a kitten."

"I do not understand, the barrier should not be painful to touch." Asgore said.

San's shrugged and dropped their backpack of the ground, "they're not your average human."

Asgore asked, "Should I send for a healer?"

"you know one who can use healing soul magic?" Sans asked.

"Healing soul magic?! Golly, is it that bad?" Asgore leaned over them, studying them intensely.

" _It's fine._ " Chara reassured him, " _We'll visit MK when get back to Snowdin._ "

"Back to Snowdin?" Asgore said anxiously, "but you can stay here, Toriel and I will take care of you as best we can. We can sit in the living room, telling stories. Eating butterscotch pie... we could be a family a-"

" _Don't._ " Chara said softly, " _Please. I'm sorry Mister but I can't._ "

Asgore froze still as a statue.

"my bro is pretty attached to em." Sans said, "it'd break his heart if they left."

"Ah..." Asgore said sadly.

"We can come visit," Frisk said absently, "lots, if you want, for tea and gardening. Chara doesn't not wanna see you, they just don't wanna live here. There are too many bad memories."

"I see." Asgore said, trying to look understanding.

" _Why the heck did you touch the barrier, Frisk?_ " Chara asked eager to distance themselves from Asgore's pained expression, " _And then you just drift off to leave me with the pain, huh?_ "

"Sorry, Chara." Frisk said with a sigh. They sat forward, peeling away from Asgore's hand. Sans offered his hand and they took it, letting themselves be pulled up. "Sans!" they said, excited despite feeling wrung out like a wet dishcloth.

"yeah, kid?"

"Did you know the barrier uses magic to get stronger?!" Frisk said

Sans said, "the barrier was made with the soul magic of seven humans-"

"But it keeps going by using the magic in the Underground!" They gestured as they spoke, "it pulls it in from the air and pushes it around like- like a current or waves, and that makes the power always stay the same!"

Sans leaned forward slightly, his hands slipping from his pockets, "yeah?"

Frisk went on excitedly, picking up their backpack and pulling it on quickly, "I thought it was weird, cause my magic fades after a while if it's not connected to my soul directly, so I didn't understand how the barrier could keep going without the casters but when I touched it I could see!"

"the barrier self sustains by feeding on the underground's ambient magic supply," Sans mused. "but that shouldn't be enough to account for all power of the barrier, if it was just monster magic then we would've been able to break it a long time ago."

"That's because there are casters!" Frisk grabbed his sleeve.

"what?" Sans brow furrowed.

Frisk tugged on his jacket urgently, "The seven souls are _in_ the barrier, the humans who made the barrier wove their souls into the spell! It keeps it going forever!"

Sans eyes widened, "shit. i mean, i've heard theories about the source of the barriers power..." He nodded at them, "you're certain?"

Frisk nodded.

"Pardon, but-?" Asgore said tentatively.

"sorry, boss. it's, well," Sans said with a wave. "we'll have to come back again when your soul's back up to snuff."

Frisk nodded excitedly.

"i'm gonna have to teach you aren't i?" Sans said with a sigh.

"Oh please!" Frisk said excitedly.

"yes, yes," he put on a pained but dutiful face. He slung an arm over their shoulders and pulled them in closer, murmuring quietly so only they could hear, "prolly best if you save one more time and then let's see about those souls?"

Frisk nodded, briefly closing their eyes in concentration. Flowey had moved to the throne room but he probably wasn't planning to stay there. They took a deep breath and saved again.

Sans dropped his arm and stepped back slightly, his eyes skimming the edges of the room in apparent boredom.

Frisk walked over to Asgore and tugged on his cloak, "I wanna ask..."

.

(a/n: the next update will be this wednesday, june 1st, mostly cause I want to go back to updating on wednesdays. I like updating on wednesdays, don't know why.

There will be a general increase in swearing from here on out, mostly because Sans and Chara have come to realize that Frisk is not a precious baby made of spun glass, but rather a stubborn, pig-headed nugget with too much curiosity and not enough common sense. Except the word fuck, Chara would still rather that word not be used around Frisk, unless Chara is saying it then it's FINE and TOTALLY justified.)


	37. Chapter 37

(a/n: Just a little reminder than this universe has never experienced a genocide/kill-all run, only one pacifist run. Also, content warning for a panic attack)

.

Chapter 37

Sans dropped his arm and stepped back slightly, his eyes skimming the edges of the room in apparent boredom.

Frisk walked over to Asgore and tugged on his cloak, "I wanna ask..."

"Yes?" Asgore said with a gentle rumble.

Chara licked their lips nervously, " _Could... could we see the human souls?_ "

Asgore slowly rose to his feet, towering over them in his plate armor accented with gold and purple. He loomed, the light framed him and cast his face in shadow and Frisk felt a chill go down their spine.

They stared transfixed like a deer in headlights as the past rose up in their mind. When that gentle face had turned away and summoned a trident of malice with the intent to kill and gave them no choice but to strike him. The voice in their head, sometimes kind, sometimes teasing, sometimes kind, had been silent and the dread in their gut seemed double. Their hand twitched as they remember the way the knife felt in their hand as they struck him, the pressure of it cutting into him, through him. Their eyes burned with the same tears, desperately wishing it wasn't happening and making the world blur. He had wanted them to kill him! He had wanted-

Their hands clutched the locket and squeezed.

Hands, one large and warm, the other thin and firm, and a voice telling them to breathe.

They breathed. They breathed, ragged and too fast, their chest moving like a bellows and hurting. Tears and snot dripped down their face but they cried silently except for their frantic gasps. They focused on their breathing, on each in and out, closing their eyes until things started to calm and their heart slowed to an almost normal rate. They could hear the birds singing, sounding so carefree while very inch of their body trembled.

Asgore and Sans were standing on either side of them, concern etched on their faces. Asgore's hand covered their small back. Sans' hand squeezed their shoulder as they looked at him. They forced their hand to uncurl from the locket.

"hey, kid." Sans smiled, "calmin' down?"

They nodded.

Asgore's hand made little circular motions on their back. He would open his mouth to speak, then close it again. Finally he managed, "Perhaps we ought to retire to the house." He nodded to himself, "Yes. A cup of tea would be just the thing. A nice cup of tea."

Frisk wiped their face on their sleeve and grimaced. They felt exhausted and gross but they smiled. "that would be nice," they said in a small voice. "You could start it and Sans will help me inside?"

Asgore spread his hands, unsaid was that he could easily carry them, but Sans picked up on their hint and pushed, "i got it covered boss. maybe you have one of those fancy soothing teas?"

"...Ah, yes." He stood slowly, forced a cheerful smile, "Lavender and chamomile, perhaps. I think I have some. I shall just, just go and" He walked out of the room glancing at them, hurt and anxious.

As Asgore's cape disappeared beyond the doorframe Sans glanced at them them and raised his brows questioningly.

"I'm gonna redo it." Frisk sniffed, "I just need..."

"some time to catch your breath?" Sans said, "somethin really shook you up there."

They nodded and let out a long breath but didn't answer the unsaid question. Frisk stood up and finished drying their face, taking a few more deep breaths, "Ok. I'm gonna do it now."

"alright." Sans stepped back like they might explode and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Frisk closed their eyes and picked out their save point just across a few steps away and summoned up a surge of determination to pull them back.

-Sans dropped his arm from around their shoulders and stepped back slightly, his eyes started to skim the edges of the room but stopped and he looked back at Frisk.

"Can we see the souls, Pop-pop?" Frisk asked, keeping their eyes locked on the floor just in front of where Asgore knelt.

He stood up, the shadow casting down over them, they looked farther down at the toes of their own shoes, scuffed and dirty.

"The souls." Asgore said flatly.

Frisk waited. There was a soft scraping noise as Sans shifted his feet.

"I cannot in good conscience," He hesitated. "They are for the good of monsterkind, held in trust."

Frisk rubbed their eye wearily, the headache and its persistent dull ache was becoming overwhelming. They suddenly wished they had waited a day and rested. Wished they were back home, curled up on the couch next to Pap with a heavy blanket and a cup of hot cocoa. Wished they could sleep.

Chara took over. " _Please, Mister? I..._ " Chara paused as their mind scrambled for a reason that he might believe, coming up with only the worst. They gritted their teeth and said it anyway, " _It's my fault they were killed. I want to see, with my own eyes, what I've done._ "

Asgore shuddered, "It was not you, Chara," his voice was laced with sorrow, "I was the one that struck them down. I was the one who choose the path."

" _It's my fault you had to make that choice,_ " Chara said grimly, clenching their jaw to stem any stupid tears.

"a quick look wouldn't hurt nothin' right?" Sans added in from behind them.

Asgore stared at the stone floor unseeing, "It is not right. I do not wish for you to suffer any more."

Chara stared at him defiantly, curling their hands into fists. " _Please._ "

"Will you not reconsider?"

Chara shook their head. Their voice wavered, " _Dad. Please._ "

He said nothing more, simply nodding and walking back to where Sans stood, a gentle hand guiding them back with him. He held out his hand and the ominous red trident materialized within it. The butt of the spear hit the stone like a bell and the ringing noise carried with it a wave of magic that triggered mechanisms deep below. Seven circles of stone turned, sank slightly, and were retracted under the floor, revealing seven shining disks of silver. The soul containers rose, their souls slowly exposed and casting a faint rainbow colored light across the room. They clicked loudly as they reached the top and the whir of machinery fell to a whisper and then died away.

Frisk walked over to them and knelt down in front of the little hearts. Their colors were dimmer than Frisk's own and they bobbed peacefully. Frisk knew in the battle with Flowey, they eventually helped them, healed them and then abandoned Flowey but before that, perhaps they had been asleep? Frisk pressed their hand to the smooth glass, they hoped it was sleep, or something like it, and that the souls were at peace.

There was a strange pulling darkness and silence as Sans appeared beside them, his hand brushed their arm, "brace yourself," he warned.

Frisk turned to him as the wave of magic flooded over them and the world froze. They sucked in a breath and squeezed their eyes shut as their head throbbed.

"sorry 'bout that." Sans said, walking along the line the containers with a detached air, "i thought i'd better put a stop to this." he pointed with the toe of his slipper to a long, thin vine that had been slinking along behind the soul containers. "flowey, i presume."

Chara nodded. They followed behind Sans, "What should-"

A line of thirty blue bones coursed up out of the ground inside the vine, so tightly spaced they almost touched, "shall we have him join us?" Sans asked as his face set in concentration.

Around them, Frisk felt Sans' magic shift as he altered it to allow one more inside the stopped time stream. There was a horrible tearing sound and a snarl of pain.

"now, now," Sans tutted. "i wouldn't move, if i were you."

Flowey emerged just slightly from the shadows of the cave wall. His vines and roots spread out and up the rough stone like an infection, all originating from one large crack in the back, near the doorway that they had come in from.

"Even the smiley trashbag is on your side now?" He growled, glaring at Sans.

Sans' regular old smile grew as he looked at Flowey. He rocked back on his heels and blew a faint whistle through his teeth, "that expression.," he said happily, "that's the expression of someone whose died at least ten times. give or take. there's a nuance to this stuff and i'm a bit too far removed to be too accurate."

Flowey's face twisted into a demonic snarl.

"nice to know i made you suffer," Sans' chuckled. "at least a little, for all the shit you did. it's only too bad i can't remember any of it."

Flowey reared up on his vines, "You-!" the thrones growing larger, and sharper. Magic began to coalesce in the air into the shape of bullets.

Frisk gasped and startled backwards as something huge and white appeared in the air above their heads. A massive skull, beast-like, with glowing blue eyes and a great, gaping mouth stared down at Flowey, magic frothing and churning in the back of its throat, a white hot promise of death.

"don't. tempt. me. weed," Sans said acidly.

Frisk stared at Sans, his eye, the one he always winked at them, burned with blue and yellow magic. They unconsciously leaned away from him, their back pressing into one of the soul containers.

"the kiddos want to keep you alive," Sans said, "now, i'm not quite as good at control as my brother is, but i'm pretty sure i can bring you right to the brink of death," he grinned nastily, "and leave you there."

The bullets disappeared and Flowey shrank his thorns until they disappeared back into his stem. His face sulked bitterly, his petals flattening like a cat putting back its ears.

"now," Sans said quietly, sweat beading on his forehead, "i always thought the anomaly was fucking around because it was unhappy and when it got what it wanted it would stop." He chuckled humorlessly, "course, i had no idea the anomaly had no soul and that nothing would make it happy."

"I don't know about that." Flowey said, "Seeing you die always cheered me right up."

Sans smiled. The strange skull opened its mouth a little wider. Flowey sank closer to the the floor. The room was sharp with the smell of magic.

"now, these kids want to give you a soul. one of these souls, in fact," he gestured to the soul containers, "you just have to wait and be patient like a good little abomination. alright?"

Flowey looked from Frisk to the soul containers. "You're either lying or stupider than I thought you were."

"i don't think it'll work personally," Sans shrugged.

Flowey narrowed his eyes, "Then why are you helping them?"

"if it doesn't work i can still smear you into paste and use it for fertilizer. on the other hand if it does happen to work," He paused to relish the thought, "well, that would be the best outcome, wouldn't it?"

"You're all idiots." Flowey snapped, "Let me go you stupid sack of wind. I can't do anything so I'll play _nice_. For now." He smiled beatifically, "I promise."

"sure you will."

The blue bones disappeared one by one, sinking into the ground out of sight. Flowey hurriedly pulled his vine back as soon as he was free. His roots sank back through the crack and out of sight, an unsettling leathery sound against the stone. Sans waited until all of Flowey had disappeared back into the crack in the wall before dispelling the huge, terrifying skull back into nothingness.

He sagged with relief, his shoulders slumping as sweat oozed down his skull, "it gone?"

Frisk turned towards the crack, closing their eyes to get a better feel. "...He's in the throne room, moving towards the hallway."

"good enough." Sans grabbed them by the shoulder and steered them to where they had been crouching before. He motioned them down, before hurriedly scuffled back behind Asgore, where he had been standing before.

Frisk knelt in front of the soul container and placed their hand on the glass like they had before. Behind them, they heard Sans take a series of deep breaths then his magic broke. The strange stillness and silence was replaced by birdsong and the constantly changing light from the barrier.

Asgore said faintly, "Did...?"

Frisk looked behind them.

Asgore blinked, scanning them and the soul containers. He shook his head rapidly and rubbed his eyes, "...strange."

Frisk turned back to the souls. They didn't know how they would convince Asgore to let them have a soul without telling him why. He had barely let them see them.

Asgore shifted uncomfortably, "I think that's enough for today. Please step back young one."

"...but-"

"Step back," Asgore said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Frisk stepped back sulkily, opening their mouth to protest, even as Asgore brought his spear down to put the souls away once more.

 _We'll just have to try again._ Chara groaned.

"boss, behind us!" Sans shouted in alarm.

Asgore turned to see what had Sans so alarmed and there was another flood of Sans' magic and time stopped once more.

"last time. i promise," Sans said in apology. Sweat was beading on his skull as he turned to the soul containers that were about to descending back into the floor.

Frisk groaned, their forehead crumpled in pain.

"got your backpack? good." he waved them over impatiently, "i can't keep this up much longer, kid. so let's make this quick."

Frisk paused from pressing their hands to their eyes and focused their mind on Sans magic. They had taken it apart once before, supporting it couldn't be that difficult. And they already had an idea of how to go about it, just like the barrier was supported by monster magic, they felt certain they could just- they closed their eyes and carefully fed determination into Sans' magic, strengthening it and supporting it like the struts on a bridge.

"geez!" Sans' flinched and then froze, his eyes flickering back and forth as he studied something only he could see. His fingers moved and twitched as he calculated. "can you dial it back?" he said absently.

Frisk reduced the amount of determination gradually until Sans nodded and waited.

"how-" he said faintly. He wiped the sweat from his brow and no new sweat beaded up to take it's place, his face was relaxed with the burden of his magic shared across the two of them.

Frisk shrugged. "I just did what felt right."

He grimaced at this description, "i suppose the magic talk can wait until later." He glanced up, as if he were looking at his magic and shook his head. "come here."

Frisk walked over to him where the soul containers waited, all the souls bobbing gently inside.

"green?" Sans mused. He looked up at them, "which one do you think?" he asked.

"Is there a difference?" Frisk asked.

Sans nodded, "the color indicates the souls' focus of power, kind of like a personality trait." He pointed to them, "your's determination." He turned and pointed to each soul in turn, "light blue is patience, dark blue, integrity; orange, bravery; purple, perseverance; yellow, justice; and" he ended on the green soul, "green is defined by kindness."

" _And monsters souls are made of love, hope and compassion so kindness would be the best fit,_ " Chara said.

Sans nodded. He stepped over to the green soul container and wrapped his hands around it, giving it a little twist. It uncoupled from the floor with a sharp metallic click. "backpack," he said as he turned slowly towards them, holding the soul container at arms length as if it contained something radioactive, or infectious, or both.

Frisk quickly took off their backpack and set it on the ground, unzipping it and pulling the thermos out, setting it on the ground. Sans set the soul inside the blue canvas and zipped the backpack closed. He looked at the thermos and grinned, "well, looky here." He took the thermos, which was only slightly smaller than the soul container and carried back to the hole, sliding it place where the soul container had been. He put in upside down so the shiny metal bottom of the thermos showed and might fool someone at a quick first glance once the containers were lowered.

Then, Sans helped Frisk put the backpack back on and walked back to where he had been before he froze time. He glanced at Frisk, "ready?"

Frisk nodded and stopped feeding determination into Sans magic, a moment later, Sans released the magic and the world moved. Behind them, the soul containers finished descending into the ground and locked into placed under the stone floor, the stone covers sliding over them and hiding them from view so seamlessly that you couldn't even see the seams. It was no wonder Flowey had never been able to get to them.

"I'm afraid I don't see anything, Sans." Asgore said as he turned back to Frisk.

Sans shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "thought i saw a butterfly."

Asgore narrowed his eyes, "Sans-"

"but it's just us that _butter-fly_." he winked. "am i right?"

Asgore smiled weakly.

Chara grinned, " _It is about time we_ larva. _"_

Sans leaned forward, "make sure you say goodbye _bee_ -fore we go."

Chara snickered, "buzz _off, wise guy._ "

"you wound me."

" _Oh really?_ " Chara said as they walked over to Asgore. They called over their shoulder, " _too much_ sting _for you?_ "

"come on kid, don't _beelitte_ me." Sans said.

Chara laughed, " _Was that suppose to be beetle?_ "

Sans narrowed his eyes, " _Wasp_ it you?"

"Ant _nothin to me, bonehead,_ " Chara said cheekily.

Asgore deftly pulled them into a hug, tears glimmering in his eyes.

" _Mister!_ " Chara squeaked indignantly.

"I'm so happy," he sniffled gruffly, "it is truly you."

" _Of course it is._ " Chara muttered, embarrassed.

Asgore's mouth wobbled as he continued, "And you're alive!"

" _Mister._ "

"And happy!" he was crying again.

Chara sighed and patted Asgore awkwardly.

Sans shuffled up to them and raised a brow, "and the winner is-"

" _Me._ " Chara said smugly, " _I did four puns to your three._ " He opened his mouth to protest and Chara cut him off, " _That beetle pun sucked._ "

"i'm just rusty," he said. "i'll be out punning you in no time."

Chara smirked, " _You can try._ "

Asgore released them from the hug and dried his face with the edge of his cloak.

Frisk fished around in their pocket and pulled out their phone, holding it up to show Asgore. "Do you have a cellphone? So we can call you and stuff?"

"Oh, golly." Asgore said sheepishly, "I'm afraid I don't."

"Hmm." Frisk pursed their lips, "Well, we can give you our number and then you can get Alphee to make you a cell phone later."

Asgore smiled and nodded gracefully. He asked, "If it is not a burden, may I accompany you back to Snowdin?"

Chara looked to Sans who shrugged.

" _That would be nice,_ " they said softly.

.

(a/n: update next wednesday, the 8th!)


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"you got everything locked down here?" Sans jerked a thumb back towards the soul containers now hidden below ground.

"Yes." Asgore said, "The souls can only be accessed with my magic."

They walked back to the house together and waited while Asgore hurried to his room, peeling off his armor as he went and leaving them on the floor where they dropped. Chara wandered around the entry hall in a slow aimless circle, tracing their fingers along the walls and railings feeling, through Frisk, the pulse of the soul on their back.

Chara, Frisk said hesitantly, I have a question.

" _Hmm?_ " Chara said absently.

Umm. I hope you don't get mad but, they hesitated, but before you said that 'no one is above consequences'.

" _Yeah?_ " Chara said stiffly.

The...way you died, the said softly, with buttercups. You could've... I mean there are a lot of ways to die that aren't so...

Chara stopped walking.

I just thought, maybe you picked buttercups because of what happened with the pie and..., they trailed off, regretting they had brought it up at all.

" _They never punished me,_ " Chara said softly. Their hand on the wall curling into a fist, " _Toriel hardly even yelled at me._ "

Frisk protested, But it was an accident you didn't have to-!

" _There should be consequences. If you've done something really horrible, there_ should _be consequences,_ " Chara said, " _That's the way things_ should _be._ "

I..., Frisk voice broke off and they curled in on themselves, ...I just don't want you to suffer.

Chara stopped walking and sighed, _"Thanks Frisk."_

"some pretty dark talk considering the mission was a success," Sans said, leaning against the wall near the door. "shouldn't you be celebrating or something?"

" _We can celebrate later,_ " Chara said walking over to him, " _By the way what was the creepy floating skull thing? It looked vicious._ "

"that?" Sans scoffed and waved his hand languidly, "a little party trick, for the kiddies."

"I could feel the magic in it," Frisk said.

He glanced at them from the corner of his eye, "right. can't hide anything from you. well," he shrugged, "it's just an attack. pap hates them, says they aren't fair, lack finesse. but, finesse has no place when fighting something that's out to kill you."

" _Kill or be killed,_ " Chara said weakly.

Sans nodded, unaware of their discomfort.

"Sorry to have kept you," Asgore said as he hurried down the hallway, tugging the pink Mr. Dad-guy sweater down as he went.

Chara groaned.

"Too much?" Asgore rubbed his head sheepishly, "I am just so happy you are ali- here."

" _It's fine_." Chara muttered turning away.

"They're happy!" Frisk chirped up.

" _Shut up._ "

"Just embarrassed."

" _Traitor._ "

Asgore rested his hand on their shoulder, "Shall we go?"

Without really thinking about it Frisk reached up, wrapping their hand around Asgore's finger and holding it tight as they nodded. Asgore took their hand with a silly smile and they all walked together to the elevators, Asgore shortening his stride to match Frisk's and Sans. Taking the elevators all the way down they avoided most monsters. When they did meet someone Asgore would deign them a gracious nod but no further pause or invitation to speak, summoning up all the kinglyness he could muster so they wouldn't be stopped. The River Person tutted when they saw Asgore coming and tapped the side of their boat with their oar, whispering something melodious and harmonic within the cowl of their robe that followed with a wisp of magic enveloping the boat and settling into the wood.

When Asgore stepped on, the small boat barely even bobbed. He scooped Frisk up from the shore and they clung to the pink sweater, resting their head on his shoulder. So he sat with them, sitting in the back of the boat and letting Frisk lay against his chest for the journey upriver.

Asgore and Sans spoke a little durning the trip, about the state of the underground and other things Frisk couldn't really follow.

Frisk clung to him even more tightly as the air smell of ice and a chill slunk across the water. Asgore carried them off the ferry without comment, following Sans through the quiet Snowdin streets, waving at the people he passed.

"welp," Sans said pausing in front of the house and gesturing to it with an open hand, "this is it."

Asgore carefully set Frisk back on their feet as Sans opened the door.

Sans scuffed the snow off his slippers before stepping inside, "we're back."

Frisk kicked off their shoes as soon as they where inside..

Papyrus was sitting on the couch, still wearing his race car pajamas and fiddling with the tv remote. He sat up and leaned forward to see them as they walked in, "YOU MADE IT BACK! DID IT GO WELL?"

Asgore ducked to fit his horns through the door. "Ah, Howdy," he said. "I hope you do not mind if I come in."

Papyrus hurried to his feet and tried to salute, "OF COURSE NOT YOUR MAJESTY!"

Asgore closed the door, "There is no need to be so formal-"

"SIT DOWN!" Undyne ordered, stepping out of the kitchen, "You're supposed to be resting! RESTING!"

Papyrus knees obediently sat him back down on the couch without consulting the rest of him.

"Undyne!" Asgore said, smiling brightly and sweeping Undyne into a massive, bone-crushing hug, "I am so pleased to see you! It has been too long!"

Undyne half-smiled awkwardly, "Well, I've been busy with reports and I know I'm a couple... weeks behind but-"

"Reports aren't important!" Asgore sat her down, "But you can always come over for tea and have a nice chat!"

Frisk grabbed a blanket from where it had fallen at the end of the couch and dragged it with themselves as they crawled onto the couch next to Papyrus. They wiggled out of their backpack, wedging it between them and the arm of the couch and towed the blanket up until every fold and inch of it covered them from toe to chin.

Sans shuffled over to the couch as well and slumped onto on the other side of brother, leaning back into the cushions and slowly sliding sideways against his Papyrus' arm.

Undyne raised an eyebrow, "You guys run a marathon of something on your way over to the castle?"

"felt like it." Sans muttered.

"BROTHER?" Papyrus studied Sans with concern.

Sans glanced up and smiled, "just overused my magic a bit. nothin a nap and some food won't fix."

"We're re-um-reheating the lasagna Papyrus made," Alphys said, peeking her head around the kitchen doorway nervously, "It sh-should be done soon."

"Dr. Alphys as well!" Asgore said. "Can I help with anything?"

"Nah," Undyne playfully punched Asgore's arm, "you'd take up the whole kitchen ya big goober."

"You are right. I shall leave everything in your capable hands." Asgore smiled and sat on the floor next to the couch. "This is your home Papyrus?"

"YES YOUR MAJESTY!" Papyrus said quickly, "MY BROTHER AND I LIVE HERE. AND FRISK AND CHARA, THOUGH THEY DON'T HAVE A ROOM YET BUT WE WILL BUILD ONE AND GET THEM A BED AND BEDTIME STORIES AND OTHER GOOD, KID THINGS."

"I see," Asgore said as he looked around, "It's a very nice house. If you like, I can have the addition built for you."

"I- THAT- CAN'T- JUST-" Papyrus burbled in a panic.

Asgore laughed, "Chara will be staying here, in your care. I simply wish to help in any way I can."

Papyrus mouth opened and closed, even more at a loss of words than before.

"just say yes, bro," Sans muttered with his eyes closed.

"It would be my pleasure to do this small thing." Asgore said.

Papyrus shrugged and smiled happily, "THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. MAJESTY!"

Sans snorted, turning his face into the couch cushions to stifle his laughter.

"SANS!" Papyrus scolded.

"you're the best pap." Sans said, his voice muffled by the fabric.

Asgore said, "Once they have finished working here. I shall have Tor-," he cleared his throat, "the spare room renovated for Chara and Frisk if they should wish to visit me."

"I made c-cocoa," Alphys said, carefully stumbling out of the kitchen under the weight of a tray filled with mugs.

Undyne hurried over and plucked the tray out of her hands.

"T-thanks," Alphys said with a shy smile.

Asgore continued seriously, "I understand it is both children's wishes to live here with you, Sans and Papyrus. However, I would like you to know that if you should need any help with them, I am always willing to help. And, of course, they are always welcome to visit whenever they please."

Alphys handed him a mug from the tray, it looked tiny in his large hands.

"Oh, thank you," he said holding it carefully and taking a tiny sip.

Alphys took another cup from the tray and offered it to Papyrus.

He took it gratefully and sucked down the sweet drink, trying not to show that it was too hot, covering his mouth with one hand and grimacing.

Sans took the next cup Alphys offered and sat forward slightly to see Asgore, "it's appreciated, boss. heh. at this rate these kids are going to have the biggest family in the underground."

"Um... F-frisk, would you like a cup of cocoa?" Alphys asked.

Frisk shook their head.

She turned slightly and put the cocoa back on the tray and then leaned closer to Frisk, tugging the blanket down. Concern etched her face, "A-are they s-suppose to be so pink and, uh, sweating and," she reached her hand out and touched their forehead, "w-warm! Warmer than usual, I mean."

"Ah," Asgore leaned over the arm of the couch and pressed a hand to their head, "I thought so. They seemed very quiet and lethargic on the boat ride. They have a fever."

Everyone stared at Asgore.

"IS THAT BAD?" Papyrus asked anxiety rising in every word.

"...It can be." Asgore said calmly, "but-"

"WHAT SHOULD WE DO?"

"But," Asgore said a little more forcefully, "it's likely just a case of them being tired. Humans often become ill if they are tired or unhealthy. It is one of the drawbacks of having a biological body."

Alphys said quietly, "S-so then we should...?"

Asgore tapped his chin, looking up at the ceiling as he thought, "They need food and rest. Someone should keep an eye on them to make sure their temperature doesn't get too high, that can be dangerous."

Sans said, "yo, grillby makes-"

"GRILLBY'S!?" Papyrus groaned in disdain, "YOU CAN'T BE THINKING OF-OOF!"

Sans dug his elbow into Papyrus' ribs and continued without missing a beat, "grillby make this soup; broth, vegetables, all sorts of good stuff for when you feel shitty and can't be bothered to chew, you just gotta ask him."

"I'll get it!" Undyne shouted, already gone, door slamming against the wall and rebounding with a flitch inducing bang.

Frisk pushed Asgore's hand away and pulled the blanket back up. Too cold even though their head burned and throbbed. They closed their eyes trying to ignore everyone talking excitedly over their head about human sickness and healthcare like they were a new puppy.

" _Would you all shut the hell up?_ " Chara muttered, " _...our head hurts enough as it is, thanks very much._ "

The door banged open as Undyne returned with a container of soup.

Chara growled something under their breath and tried to pull the blanket up over their head.

Papyrus caught the edge and tugged it down with one finger, "PLEASE EAT. AT LEAST A LITTLE," he said plaintively.

Chara looked up at his sad face and sighed, "... _fine_."

Undyne carefully opened the container and passed it over to them. Alphys rushed over with a spoon. Chara took the spoon and slowly lowered it into the soup, when they lifted it out, it wobbled and most of the soup dripped back into the container. They stuck it in their mouth anyway, sucking the cooked vegetables off the spoon spitefully. They tried another spoonful and much the same thing happened. The soup container wobbled in their hand and Asgore reached over, steadying their hand so the soup didn't spill.

Tears of frustration pricked at the corners of their eyes, " _I_ hate _being sick._ " Chara said hoarsely.

"Oh," Alphys said softly, looking down at the floor nervously.

Asgore swallowed hard and pressed the soup into Papyrus' hands, "Would you help them eat Papyrus?"

"OF COURSE!" Papyrus said, glancing from Asgore to Alphys in confusion.

"...sorry Chara." Frisk said, opening their mouth as Papyrus held up a spoonful of soup.

Papyrus looked so focused and serious it was almost enough to made them laugh. They smiled though. Chara resented having to be fed like a baby but Frisk liked it. It was nice to be doted on when they were sick.

Asgore caught Sans eye and motioned him over.

Sans slid off the the couch and walked around the feeding crew. "yeah, boss?"

"I know you are tired but would you speak with me for a moment Sans?" Asgore asked.

Sans raised a brow.

"You mentioned something when we were back at New Home that I think might be contributing to this. I was wondering if you might elaborate."

Sans rocked back on his heels.

"You mentioned they might require healing soul magic."

Sans grimaced and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Asgore continued doggedly, his patience growing thin, "If they require such intensive healing I would like to know for certain and _why_."

Sans looked at Frisk.

They looked back pleadingly.

He sighed and shrugged, "healing soul magic would help. as for why, you'll have to ask the kid. i'm not at liberty to say."

"Sans." Asgore's voice rumbled, "As your king, I demand-"

"don't," Frisk said softly, "yell at him," they took another spoonful of soup and closed their eyes as they swallowed, "please."

Asgore slowly sat back, relenting despite himself. "Monsters who can use healing soul magic are very rare," He said, "I believe there are two living at the capital."

"Healing soul magic?" Undyne narrowed her eye in thought, "...healing soul magic..."

Alphys raised a hand hesitantly, "I-I could go-"

"HEALING SOUL MAGIC!" Undyne punched one hand with the other, grinning triumphantly.

Everyone stared at her.

"That monster kid, the little yellow one with no arms, they used healing soul magic on the brats before!" Undyne said.

"MK?" Papyrus said, "THEY LIVE UP BY THE FERRY LANDING."

"I-I'll go!" Alphys said forcefully, her scales pinking with embarrassment.

"do you know where they live?" Sans asked.

Alphys scales colored further and she looked down at her feet, "I just w-want to help too..."

Undyne grabbed her coat, "We can go together, Alph," she smiled gently and touched Alphys shoulder as she headed for the door.

Alphys startled after her, catching Undyne's trailing hand in hers and holding on tight as Undyne held open the door for her. "We'll be back soon!"

Asgore stared after them, even after the door had shut.

" _They're dating._ " Chara murmured, too pleased not to say.

"Oh." Asgore's eyes widened and slowly, he smiled. "I am so pleased that they have found each other."

"the kids are all grown up," Sans said.

"Well, in a way, I think of all the monsters in the Underground as my children." Asgore said.

"thanks, dad," Sans said jokingly. "now let's let the kids rest."

"I agree." Asgore said, getting to his feet and taking the empty tupperware of soup from Papyrus. "I will put this away," He said, moving towards the small kitchen.

Papyrus started to get up but Sans shook his head and just motioned for him to move to the end. "you gotta rest too bro," Sans said, "i'll get a pillow." He tromped upstairs, returning with Frisk's small pillow as Asgore emerged from the kitchen, a damp dishcloth in hand.

Sans plopped the pillow against Papyrus' leg.

Frisk tugged Sans sleeve, "will you take care of my bag?" they asked anxiously.

Sans glanced at the bag and nodded, "with my life, kiddo." He picked up their bag and pulled his arms through the straps. "how do i look?" he posed and waggled his brows.

Frisk giggled.

" _First day of kindergarten?_ " Chara said.

Sans put a hand over his heart and made the saddest sad face, then grinned.

"Please lay down," Asgore waved to Frisk.

Frisk collapsed into down into the pillow and slowly rolled onto their back. Asgore placed the damp cloth across their forehead and Frisk sighed appreciatively.

Papyrus asked, "ARE YOU SURE I SHOULDN'T MOVE?"

"stay," Frisk frowned. They reached back. Papyrus set his hand on theirs and Frisk curled their fingers around his, smooth and cool, and their face began to relax. He squeezed their hand gently and with his other hand brushed the hair, damp with sweat, from their face.

"see, bro?" Sans said, "you're the perfect medicine."

Frisk let their eyes close and the voices around them turned into a murmur of comforting noise. Soon even that drifted away.

They were in the cave again and the souls were bright in their containers. Vines moved across the floor, leathery and thick. Sans was suddenly there and that giant beast skull burning with magic opened its mouth and the world burned bright with magic and- They were in the cave again and the vines were wrapped around the containers. The vines were wrapped around them, thorns digging into their skin and they couldn't move. They were in the cave and it was grey and shadowed and the soul containers rose from the ground-

Something heavy and cool lay on their forehead and for a moment they were pulled free from the dream as cold water dripped through their hair and soaked into the pillow.

"SANS THAT'S TOO WET!" Papyrus scolded.

Sans said, "sorry. I'll-"

Frisk smiled weakly, tried to stay awake but couldn't.

They were in the cave but they couldn't see the souls colors, they all looked grey, everything was grey. The air was so hot. Their body felt heavy. Sans was there and the giant skull. Sans was talking to Flowey but Frisk couldn't hear them. They were in the cave again. Leathery vines moved across the stone floor, covered the soul containers, crawled up the wall. They- Frisk tried to wake up- were in the cave again, standing by the soul containers- their head swimming with heat, they felt dizzy without moving- They were in the cave and vines emerged from the crack in the wall like pulsing , living organism and in the middle of it all a tiny golden flower with an innocent smiling face- desperate to escape the endlessly looping dream. They forced their eyes open.

"Yo!" MK said quietly. They were standing beside the couch and looking anxious. MK leaned forward and brush their nose against Frisk's cheek. "Woah! You are super hot! ...Sorry. That must really suck."

Frisk gave a small nod.

"I've been practicing my magic!" MK said, "I can mostly do it on purpose now. So, um, I'm gonna try alright?"

Frisk nodded again.

Behind their head Papyrus shifted and summoned Frisk's soul.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut as Papyrus flinched at the sight of it. They should've turned it around and hid the crack like Sans did. It was too late for that now.

MK swallowed hard and took a deep, "O-ok, here goes nothin."

Frisk glanced at them from the corner of their eye as MK screwed up their face in concentration. MK's small white soul pulsed and ringed Frisk heart with a soft white glow. Frisk watched their soul, the smallest of the spiderweb cracks slowly filled and pulled together. A weighted tiredness Frisk hadn't really noticed was there lifted slightly. The glow dimmed and faded away.

Sweat dripped down MK's forehead, "Sorry. I did my best, I tried-"

"thanks, mk." Frisk breathed. Their lips were dry and pulled when they tried to smile.

MK smiled bravely, "Don't worry! I'll go have a huge meal and sleep and stuff and then come back! I'm pretty sure I can do more, ok? I just gotta go slow 'cause I'm not very good yet. But I can do it!" They insisted.

"k," Frisk murmured. They lifted a hand slightly and MK pressed their head to Frisk's palm.

They fell back to sleep and the dream pulled them back in. Vines and grey cavern walls. White skulls and silent conversations. The grey walls, stone underfoot. In their mind the vines grew, thicker longer, thorns grew as big as they were. The sound came back but it was Flowey's laugh growing louder and harsher and louder and-

Someone gently shook them awake and made them drink something, water or tea or maybe it was two different times that mushed together. They tried to focus on them but their head was hot and fuzzy. Sleep. They wanted to sleep. They wanted restful cool sleep but-

They couldn't see the barrier, the souls didn't move. Vines swallowed the walls, the souls, the world, they wrapped around Sans they picked him up and it was another dream. A black place where they were all alone and Asgore's dust stained the floor, a vicious laugh and the bright rectangle of light from a tv screen hanging in the air above them showed the face of a golden flower, looking down on them, laughing and laughing and- They tried to pull themselves away from the dream, desperate for anything other than the same thing looped over and over again making them feel like they were losing their mind.

Frisk pulled their eyes open, they were breathing heavy, their head was so hot. Their back was soaked with sweat. It felt like they had been asleep forever, they hoped it was forever. They were afraid with was only minutes. The room was dark.

"pap." they croaked.

Frisk heard him start awake, his hands appeared in their field of vision, touch the dry cloth and pulled it from their forehead.

"UNDYNE?"

"Wha-! Oh, right, right away."

"open up, we gotta take your temp." Sans said.

Frisk did. Footsteps hurried back and the cloth, blessedly cool and damp pressed across their forehead. Sans pulled the thermometer out of their mouth.

"still high, but not dangerously high," Sans said, "it's gone down a bit since our little healer was here."

They shifted, holding out their hand and relaxing when they felt someone take it. It felt like Alphys. "thirsty, please," they said.

Papyrus helped them sit up and they drank lukewarm tea that tasted like ginger and honey, laid back, closed their eyes-

They were in the cave again. Grey stone, soul containers... A frantic horrible dizzy feeling washed over them that this dream wouldn't end! Wouldn't go away! They were so tired of it! So-! A hand squeezed theirs and Frisk looked over to, Chara.

Chara smiled tiredly, eyes ringed with shadows, skin paler than normal but with their cheeks flushed a vivid pink, sweat beaded their skin. Frisk squeezed Chara's hand back. They still couldn't move or speak but the dream was, more bearable. Even as the vines took everything and Flowey shifted and changed, wreathed in white light, turning into a monstrous thing that would kill them over and over again, it was almost like watching a movie, a step back and removed. Frisk held Chara's hand and watched, feeling more at peace than they had in a long time.

They opened their eyes.

"How you doin' punk?" Undyne asked quietly.

The house was dark again. Everyone was gone, to bed probably.

Undyne sat next to the couch, a blanket draped over her shoulders. She pressed her hand to their forehead and grinned, "You're feelin better."

In response Frisk's stomach gurgled loudly.

Undyne chuckled, "Hungry?"

Frisk nodded.

"Think you can handle some soup?" she asked.

"Yeah." Frisk said softly.

"I'll go nuke some and be right back." She shifted and carefully moved something out of her lap, then stood up and tiptoed to the kitchen.

Frisk pushed themselves up with one elbow and looked over the edge of the couch. Alphys was sleeping on the floor on a folded comforter, a blanket neatly tucked around her.

 _Cute._ Chara said tiredly.

The microwave softly chimed from the kitchen and Frisk levered themselves into a sitting position.

Undyne returned and sat on the couch next to Frisk, crossing her legs and propping the soup on her knee, "You want help or you got it?" she asked offering the spoon.

Frisk took the spoon, "I'll try." It was a little shaky at first but the monster food quickly filled them with energy and steadied their hand. They ate the whole container and could've managed more but felt sleepy, a good warm sleepy.

"I'ma go back to sleep." Frisk said, "Thank you."

She smiled and checked their forehead. "Practically good as new. You want anything to drink, damp cloth?"

Frisk shook their head.

Undyne narrowed her eye. She grabbed the dishcloth off the floor as she stood up, "I'll soak it anyway, you're still a little warm."

Frisk pulled up their blanket and flipped the pillow over to the cool side, snuggling into the warm. As they were falling back to sleep they felt something cool and wet drape across their forehead, it felt nice. They didn't dream.

.

(a/n: next update wednesday the 15th.

Man this chapter was hard to write. Every sentence was like pulling teeth. Writers block, I guess, cept for me it's more like writers creep.

I based Frisk's fever dreams on my own. When ever I get a fever I always get stuck on one dream that loops endlessly. They're not as interesting as Frisk's dreams and they don't evolve, just endless, inescapable tedium than seem worse than the worst nightmare because you can't wake up. Ergh, makes me shudder to think about them. Does anyone else have those sorts of fever dreams? Or maybe something different? I'm curious.

Last of all, thanks for all the comments and support! I didn't do a very good job of replying this week because of the writers creep but I read them all and really, really, appriciate them!)


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Frisk woke to the sound of exuberant stirring, a spoon rattling around a bowl like someone vigorously ringing a bell. They slowly sat up, their muscles ached and twinged when they moved. Their head feeling muzzy like it was stuffed with cotton but at least their headache was gone.

"back in the world of the living?" Sans asked, tromping down the stairs, tatty pink bathrobe trailing behind him like a the train of gown and, still wearing Frisk's blue backpack on his back.

" _That remains to be seen,_ " Chara said, stretching carefully and groaning as their body twinged in response.

"GOOD MORNING!" Papyrus said excitedly, stepping out of the kitchen and smiling like their own personal sunbeam.

"Morning Pap," Frisk said with a smile.

"mornin bro." Sans said.

Papyrus looked from Frisk to Sans and narrowed his eyes, "ARE YOU STILL WEARING FRISK'S BACKPACK? IT'S NOT FUNNY."

"you laughed."

"THE FIRST TIME!"

Sans shrugged, "they asked me to take care of it for 'em. you want me to shirk my duty?"

"WELL...NO," Papyrus said reluctantly. "ARE YOU FEELING BETTER?" he asked them.

"Yup," Frisk said.

He walked over to the couch and knelt down next to Frisk and hugged them so tight their ribs ached.

"Pap?" Frisk said softly.

He let go and smiled, "I'M MAKING PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP?"

Frisk said excitedly, "Yes-!"

" _We need to change clothes at least,_ " Chara said. They sniffed their shirt and recoiled, " _and we really need to go to the bathhouse._ "

" 'cause humans stink?" Sans asked as he walked past them and made his way to the kitchen and, more importantly, the coffee pot.

" _Ha Ha,_ " Chara said flatly.

"DON'T BE RUDE SANS! WE CAN GO TO THE BATHHOUSE AFTER BREAKFAST! A SOAK IN THE HOT WATER WILL BE GOOD FOR ALL OF US," Papyrus said, walking back to the kitchen. "THE KING BROUGHT SOME CLOTHES WITH HIM YESTERDAY. THEY'RE IN A BOX MY ROOM, BUT NOT THE BOX WITH MY BONE ATTACKS!"

Frisk nodded and headed for the stairs.

"AND CAN YOU WAKE UNDYNE AND ALPHYS UP WHILE YOU'RE UP THERE?" he called after them.

" _Got it._ " Chara droned. They pushed opened Papyrus' door, flipped the light on, cupped their hands around their mouth and shouted, " _WAKEY WAKEY, EGGS AND BAKY!_ "

Undyne shot upright with a start and there was the loud thump of something rolling off the bed onto the ground.

" _HA-!Oh shit!_ " Chara laughed, tried to cover their mouth but laughed anyway, " _Heehee-I didn't mean-!_ "

Undyne glared around until she locked her eye on Chara and narrowed into fury incarnate.

Chara was too busy rushing to the side of the bed, untangling to sheets to help Alphys sit up, still giggling, " _S-sorryhahaha, s-sorry Alphys!_ "

"Oh-! Oh-!" Alphys managed to pull her glasses out of the tangled sheet and put them them on. She blinked then back into focus and abruptly hugged them, "Y-you're feeling better! I'm so glad. I-I got worried. We were a-all worried."

Undyne took a deep ragged breath, then another, clenched her hands into fists so tight the knuckles paled, leaned forward and grabbed Chara's cheeks and stretched them until Chara squeaked and tried to wiggle away. "Good to see you up and about, punk, " She let go; sighed and sat back, stretching. Her clothes were wrinkled and looked like the same ones she had been wearing when they had fallen ill.

"Pap is making pancakes." Frisk said rubbing their cheeks. " _And there's coffee._ " Chara added.

"Good." Undyne mumbled and crawled over them.

Alphys pulled herself up and tried to straighten her rumpled clothes, "I'm ok, I'm, uh, going to go down with Undyne."

"We're gonna change." Frisk said.

Alphys nodded and hurried out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

Chara glanced around the room and quickly spotted the box. They pulled open the flaps and groaned, " _Green and yellow, yellow and green._ "

"You don't like green and yellow?" Frisk asked.

" _They're ok, I guess..._ " Chara lifted out a yellow and green stripped shirt and stared at it critically. The clothes smelled musty. " _Green and yellow were Azzy's favorite colors. All the clothes I wore down here were borrowed from him. Toriel was going to make some clothes, just for me, but what with moving from Home to New Home and getting settled in and then... the buttercups and well..._ " they shook their head and pulled the blue and pink jumper off and slipped the yellow and green one on. " _Flowey'd have a shit-fit if he saw me wearing these,_ " They said, looking down at themselves. They changed into clean pants and tossed their rumpled sweat stain clothes in a pile next to the box.

Frisk curiously riffled through the box, glancing over various striped shirts of green and yellow and paused. It was hard to tell so deep in the box but they thought they spotted something darker. Frisk pushed the other clothes up and pulled a shirt out from the middle of the pile. It was long sleeved, made of a thinner material than their own jumper, and purple, with two white-grey stripes.

Chara's eyes widened. They held the shirt up, shaking out the wrinkles as best they could, " _She made it for me,_ " they said in awe, " _I thought... I thought she had forgotten._ " Tears pricked at the corner of their eyes and they hurriedly blinked them away.

Purple and white are her colors aren't they?, Frisk asked.

Chara flushed slightly with embarrassment and said defensively, " _They're the royal colors. They're very nice colors._ "

Why don't we put this shirt on then? Frisk asked.

Chara recoiled and quickly folded the shirt up again, setting it on the top of the pile, " _When we smell like a dog that's rolled in something that's been dead for a week? I don't think so._ "

"That's awful!" Frisk giggled.

Chara smiled. " _I'll bring it with us to the bathhouse. Once we're clean, then I'll wear it._ "

There was a tap on the bedroom door.

"Come in." Frisk said.

Sans opened the door, "you done? pap's waiting til you get done to start on the pancakes."

"We're done." Frisk said. "Thank you for taking care of the, of my backpack."

"yeah, sure." Sans said.

They hesitated, "Um, can I have it back now?"

Sans raised a brow, "nah."

Frisk stiffened.

Chara instantly began to seethe, " _You little-!_ "

Sans held up a hand placatingly, "look. i'll give it back, promise but-"

" _Then give it!_ " Chara snapped.

"nah," Sans said again. He grinned, "i know you're in a rush to try out your big plan but," he held up two fingers, "two days. two days to rest. two days to patch your soul up. two days to get your strength back."

"But-!" Frisk protested.

"you've been through hell lately kid. you're lucky you only had a little fever. from what the boss has been telling us, humans can all sorts of illnesses, diseases, injuries, things that can't be healed easily with magic. you need to take a break, so ya don't break," he grinned at his own joke.

"...but..." Frisk's forehead creased with worry.

"we can write it out." Sans went over to Papyrus's desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. "you can ask the abomination to meet you somewhere, two days from now." He tapped the pen on his teeth briefly then nodded, "there would be good." He wrote quickly, "morning, probably..." the pen scribbled across the paper. He read over his message and then motioned them over.

Frisk leaned over to read the paper.

Sans said, "there's a clearing outside of snowdin, the teens use it but it's pretty isolated. they don't get out of bed til noon so I said you'd meet him there in the morning, on the fourteenth." He held out the pen to them. "you two sign so the little shit doesn't think i'm messing with him."

Chara took the pen and the paper, reading it over critically, then they signed at the bottom, a neat cursive signature. Frisk took over and signed underneath Chara's signature in a simple round print.

"now," Sans said taking the paper and folding it in half, "you tell me were he is and i'll deliver this lickity split while you help pap make breakfast."

"I'm gonna save first," Frisk said.

"what, you don't trust me?" Sans said.

"That's not it." Frisk said, closing their eyes to focus.

" _I don't_." Chara said.

"gee, thanks."

Frisk finished checking that underground's inhabitants were still ok and saved. "...He's close," Frisk frowned, "in the mist between Snowdin and Waterfall."

"got it." Sans disappeared in a halo of blue light and the sucking black silence of his teleports.

Frisk made their way downstairs and helped Papyrus make pancakes, getting the stepladder so they could reach the stove and do the flipping. Alphys made the table for breakfast. Undyne laid her head on the table, an untouched cup of coffee in front of her as she dozed off and began to drool.

There was a faint knock on the door. "Howdy," Asgore said brightly, pushing the door open and stepping inside, a large box in his arms.

"Morning Pop-pop!" Frisk yelled from the kitchen and waved exuberantly.

"Good morning Frisk, Chara. Are you feeling well?"

Frisk very carefully pushed the spatula under the pancake, lifted it and flipped it. They smiled up at Pap and then turned to Asgore, "Yes!"

"Splendid! I brought over some more things for the two of you and a few books for Sans and Papyrus." He sat the box down on the couch.

Chara asked excitedly, " _Did you bring my knitting stuff?!_ "

Asgore chuckled, "I did indeed."

" _Thank you!_ " Chara said, handing Papyrus the spatula and jumping off the stepladder and running to the box.

"That is not all I brought," Asgore said.

Chara opened the box and took out the package of toothbrushes on top with a groan.

Asgore patted their head, "It is an important part of human hygiene."

Chara groaned louder.

He leaned into the kitchen, "Papyrus, it is important that they brush their teeth in the morning and evening to maintain healthy teeth."

Papyrus looked up from his pancake flipping, "WOWIE, HUMANS SURE HAVE A LOT OF HYGIENE!"

"Yes," Asgore said, "You must take care to make sure they take care of themselves. Chara tends to avoid brushing their teeth and eating vegetables which are both very important to the health of a growing child."

" _Aww, do you have to tell him everything?!_ " Chara groaned.

"Yes. I'm afraid I do."

" _It's not like it matters,_ " they grumbled, _"Frisk likes vegetables AND brushing their teeth._ "

"Fuzzy teeth feel gross." Frisk said.

Chara went back to looking through the box.

Asgore sat at the table beside Undyne and placed a hand on her back, "Your coffee has grown cold, Undyne."

She sat up with a start.

"Would you like me to get you a fresh cup? Or perhaps some tea?" he offered.

Undyne brushed the drool from her chin, "Nah." She grabbed the cup and swallowed the whole thing in one go, blinked once and then shivered. She grinned, "I didn't hear you come in!"

"You were, uhh, sleeping." Alphys said softly, from the chair across from her.

Undyne shrugged, "Well, there you go. Case closed by the brilliant Dr. Alphys."

Alphys flushed, "N-No I j-just- I mean- Gosh, Undyne!"

"BREAKFAST IS SERVED!" Papyrus announced, carrying a plater of pancakes so tall it hid his face.

"good work, bro. i'm starving." Sans said tromping down the stairs, "the anticipation of your amazing cooking is almost more than a monster _pan-cake_."

Papyrus smacked the plater down in the center of the table.

"don't look so glum bro," the grin grew on Sans' face, "you ought to _syur-up_."

"SANS!" Papyrus scolded.

He chuckled as he shuffled into the kitchen for his coffee cup.

Frisk was probably the only one who noticed the snow clinging to the edge of his bathrobe. They ran over to the table and climbed into a chair beside Asgore near the end of the table.

Papyrus sat down at the head of the table with a sigh, "WOULD YOU LIKE SOME PANCAKES?" he asked Frisk.

"Yes, please," Frisk held out their plate as Papyrus put two pancakes on it. They grinned mischievously to themselves said, "Don't mind Sans, he's _toastly_ harmless."

"NOT YOU TOO!?" Papyrus despaired.

Frisk giggled, proud of coming up with a pun on their own.

"pretty good, kiddo," Sans said sliding into the chair across from them and flipping four pancakes on his plate.

" _I'd have to_ egg- _ree._ " Chara said snatching the syrup bottle and pouring a generous amount over their pancakes.

Asgore plucked the bottle away from them before they could drown the pancakes in sugary syrup.

"Is this a competition!? BRING IT ON!" Undyne said excitedly.

"NOOOOooo..." Papyrus slumped down in his chair.

Her face set in fierce concentration. "...coffee? Nah. Maybe... like orange juice or something...?"

"A-a pun competition?" Alphys stuttered and blushed, "Th-that's not really my _jam_."

Frisk laughed. " _That was pretty good!_ " Chara said.

Alphys turned bright red and covered her face with her hands shyly.

"I would join in," Asgore said, "but I'm afraid I have no talent for it, I am simply not very _pun_ ny." He chuckled at his own joke.

"NGAAAAHHH! I DON'T GET IT!" Undyne yelled in frustration, grabbed the edge of the table, her biceps flexing-

Asgore placed his hand on the table. It shuddered and creaked ominously but didn't move. "Now, now, Undyne," Asgore said gently, patting her back soothingly with his other hand, "we haven't finished eating yet."

" _Besides,_ " Chara said, " _You did an awesome pun._ "

Undyne blinked and released her grip on the edge of the table, "I did?"

" _Sure. I dough-nut get it? Best pun, hands down._ "

"Wh-who doesn't like doughnuts?" Alphys said supportive.

Undyne scratched her cheek sheepishly, then pulled herself up and stuck out her chin, "Fuhuhuhu, of course it was!" She grabbed her fork and plunged it into the stack of pancakes, all the way down to her hand and dragged the ten odd pancakes onto her plate, smeared them with butter and dug in.

Papyrus served out everyone else before sitting down again and pulling the last three pancakes onto his own plate and putting a wafer-thin coat of butter and syrup on top.

Frisk looked around the table, everyone eating together, everyone being together.

Sans asked, "you ok, kid?"

Frisk blinked, "...um..."

"you aren't eating."

Everyone leaned forward to look at them, concern etched on their faces.

"IS YOUR FEVER COMING BACK?" Papyrus reached over and pressed his hand to their forehead. He visibly relaxed and pulled his hand back, "YOU DON'T FEEL TOASTY."

Frisk giggled as they rapidly blinked back tears, "...Toasty." They wiped their eyes and did their best to steady themselves, "...it's just ...you're all here," they took a deep breath, "...you're all here... an when I was sick you were here and... I 'unno," they mumbled and looked down at their lap feeling embarrassed, "no one's ever done that for me before."

"tough luck, kiddo, you're stuck with us now." Sans said.

Undyne pounded the table, "We're besties to the bitter end, punk!"

Asgore smiled kindly and brushed his hand over their hair. "We all care for you a great deal, both of you."

" _Stop making them soppy._ " Chara said wiping their face with their sleeve, " _Ugh, gross._ "

Frisk smiled, "Thank you."

Conversation drifted back out and into lighter topics as everyone finished eating and Asgore collected everyone's plates, and putting them in Papyrus' extra tall sink, which went all the way up to his chest. Asgore eyed the sink critically, "I shall have the construction workers fix your sink as well. This is hardly practical."

"WELL! WE HAD BETTER GET GOING TO THE BATHOUSE THEN!" Papyrus said hurriedly.

"Should I bring laundry?" Frisk asked.

Papyrus nodded.

Undyne slung her arm around Papyrus' neck, "You're going to the bathhouse?!"

"FRISK WANTED TO GO AND-"

Undyne squeezed her arm, "Count me in! I could use a soak! Fuhuhuhu!"

"Oh, it has been ages since I visited the Waterfall bathhouse," Asgore said, "Would you mind if I joined you all as well?"

"You should all come!" Frisk said excitedly, "It'll be fun!"

Sans shrugged.

Alphys blushed and agreed timidly.

Frisk ran upstairs to get their things and they all went to the bathhouse together. Undyne tried to convince Alphys to come to the Not Shy wash area but Alphys just turned red and ran into the Shy area. Not that it mattered much since Undyne was kicked out almost immediately for doing a cannonball into the big soaking bath. She had to wait outside until everyone else was finished.

Papyrus helped Frisk wash their hair. Chara found the whole thing embarrassing and would've gone to the Shy bathing side if they had any say in the matter so they sulked in the back of Frisk's mind for the whole trip. Frisk loved every minute of it, it was like having a real parent which, they supposed they had five of now.

Sans walked through a shower on his way to the soaking tub and sank under the water out of sight until Papyrus fished him out to go home. Asgore had to shampoo from the tip of his ears down to his toes and it took so long to finish that everybody was ready to leave by the time he got in the big soaking bath. He reluctantly dried off and followed them out. Chara put on the purple shirt and smiled so big their face hurt, though they quickly hid their expression before anyone could see.

Undyne and Alphys immediately headed off back home with a few goodbye hugs. Asgore also bid a reluctant farewell and left for the capital but only after getting Frisk and Chara to promise to come over for tea soon.

Sans had dozed off while everyone had been saying their goodbyes. Papyrus picked him up and bundled him into the basket of clean laundry and carried it back to Snowdin, dropping Sans off at home in his basket. Frisk and Papyrus went to visit MK. The little monster did their best and healed Frisk's soul a tiny bit more.

"I SHALL MAKE MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS' BEST DISH FOR DINNER!" Papyrus declared as they walked into the house late that afternoon, "CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS?"

"Spaghetti?!" Frisk asked.

"NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE!" Papyrus mussed their hair hurried towards the kitchen.

Frisk looked around the living room. The laundry basket was right where Papyrus had left it but Sans was no longer curled up inside it. "Sans?" Frisk called out to the empty room. They raised their voice slightly, "SANS?"

 _Upstairs,_ Chara pointed their eyes up to the second story where they could see that Sans bedroom door was slightly ajar.

Frisk went up to his room and tapped on the door, "Sans?"

"come in, kiddo." Sans said.

Frisk pushed the door open. Sans was laying on his back on the floor with his legs half on the mattress on the floor. The mattress still had the clean fitted sheet Papyrus had put on it during his cleaning day but the blanket had already been rolled into a neat wad in the middle of the bed.

"Whatcha doin?" Frisk asked leaning against the doorframe.

"chillin."

"Oh," Frisk said, looking at the floor and then back at Sans. "..."

Sans sighed, "...you can join me if you want."

Frisk smiled and hurried over, circling around the trash tornado and the treadmill in the middle of the room. They sat down across from him, next to the dresser, then lay down on the floor, staring up at the blank ceiling. It was a bit like Napstablook's family tradition but not quite as cosmically calming.

"Hey Sans? Will you teach me about magic?" Frisk asked.

Sans snorted, " 'teach' you about magic? kid, you can already do more than most monsters will ever manage in their lifetimes, y'know?"

"But I want to know more! I wanna know everything about magic." They held up their hands and spread their fingers wide, "I've never been good at anything before. I've never been much good at anything really... but with magic I can..." they paused, their fingers twitched as they stared, "...with magic I can help people, monsters... I can make things better and help and do-" they rolled over and sat up on their elbows so abruptly Sans flinched, "there's so much I wanna do! So much I wanna know!"

Sans smiled lazily, "if you want to learn _everything_ about magic you're gonna have to get better at other things, reading, math, writing too. i don't have the time or the brains," he tapped the side of his skulls with a heh, "to teach you everything. i gotta work, take care of pap, lots of napping-"

" _Napping?!_ " Chara sputtered, " _Really?!_ "

"very important." Sans assured them seriously. "besides, even i can't really explain the entry level stuff, it's already too complicated in my mind."

" _How the heck does that even make sense?_ " Chara asked.

Sans waved his hand in lazy dismissal, "the stuff they teach you at first is full of gobbledy gook, things that are over simplified, unfixed quantities talked about like they're certainties, that sort of thing. it makes it easier to get started, to wrap your head around the concepts and then you can start breaking them down and learning how things really work. but that stuff," he shuddered, "like nails on a chalkboard."

Chara narrowed their eyes, " _So what you're saying is, you won't teach them the basics because it gives you the creeps?_ "

"got it in one."

" _What are you five years old?_ " Chara snapped, reaching over and flicking Sans in the head and then clutching their hand as a shock of pain went through their finger.

Sans grinned.

" _Don't say a word_." Chara muttered.

Sans turned his head back up towards the ceiling, " 'sides you're human. all the stuff we have on monster magic might not even apply to you. determination is still largely an unknown factor. very little research has been done on it."

"...still wanna know," Frisk said sulkily.

Sans sighed, then groaned, "fine, let's go over some baby bones level stuff."

Frisk went still as a statue, hyper focusing in on every word.

"all monsters start using magic with visualization," he held up his hands, a small bone formed between them, hung in the air for a second, before Sans grabbed it and held it up, "you want to form a bone attack, you imagine a bone in your head. it's a shape to pour your magic into and make it real. a lot of monsters never get beyond this step." he dropped the bone and it dissolved into nothing as it fell, "how do you use your magic?"

Frisk said, "I use determination."

"cute." Sans sighed, "you know what i meant."

Frisk explained about the gold star save points and the silver star teleportation points and pulling themselves to them to use them.

He nodded, "that's basic visualization. so at least we're starting at the same place. now, none of that is real."

"huh?" Frisk's brow furrowed in confusion.

"none of that is real." Sans repeated, "all those stars and whatever, that's all just your imagination. it's how your mind makes sense of what you're doing so you can achieve your end goal. imagine a bone, make a bone but it's all just magic, it can be almost anything, theoretically."

"oh..." Frisk said softly.

 _Oh is right!_ Chara snapped irritably, _Oh, I'll just take that information to the bank and invest it, in a hundred years it will still be worth fuck-all. Tell us some more of your wisdom oh wise mas-_

Frisk ignored Chara and let them continue swearing to their hearts content inside their head.

Sans frowned, the expression slowly souring as if he had eating something that had gone bad until he finally spit out, "that is the stupidest explanation in the world. useless, misleading, bullshit they feed to kids and then they get stuck making f-ing picture books in their head instead of learning how magic really works. we're made of magic and ninety-nine percent of monsters don't have any idea what magic even is!" he threw up his hands in frustration and then let them fall back on his chest with a hollow thump.

"what is magic?" Frisk prompted hopefully.

San turned his head and looked at them and then back up to the ceiling, "ever heard of string theory? magic is made of strings- wavelengths and," he waved his hands vaguely and petered off, "different lengths, wave, variations..." he sighed, "if i could show you the math. the math is sooo good. it's enough to make a grown monster weep."

" _Here I thought you said that vague bullshit was why you couldn't teach them anything. Turns out, vague bullshit is all you got._ " Chara said sourly.

Sans gave them a thumbs up, "you got it kid, nothin but a sack of vague bullshit, guess i'm off the hook."

"...Strings." Frisk said softly. They hadn't looked closely since the fever but- they closed their eyes and looked at the world around them, like they had looked after they broke their soul and the world was raw and minute.

The magic around them was woven together like a tapestry made of threads but... that wasn't real, it was just their imagination. It could be anything really. Their forehead furrowed as they focused and threads of dyed cloth changed to colored light, to a wave of energy and that felt a lot better, like the magic wanted to be that way. They opened their eyes and rubbed between their eyes.

"too much for you?" Sans asked.

Frisk shook their head, "No. Since you said it was all my imagination I was just trying to imagine things differently."

Sans shifted slightly, "how'd that go for you?"

Frisk lay back down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling, "i could already see everything like it was made of threads so I imagined the threads were strings made of light and then imagined the light was actually energy... or something like that, it felt better as energy."

"oh yeah?" Sans said in a strangled voice. "just-" he cleared his throat roughly, "just like that huh?" he slung his arm over his eyes as his whole body seemed to sag.

"Did I do something w-wrong?" Frisk asked nervously.

"you kill me kid."

"Wha-! I don't-! I didn't do-!"

"not literally," Sans said tiredly, "you just-" he flipped his free hand erratically, "-go ahead and do things that took me years to manage. that's fine. totally great. don't resent you at all."

Chara pitched their voice to sound like and informercial, " _You too can look into the fine inner-workings of magic for the low, low price of one cracked, permanently damaged soul and a lifetime of emotional trauma!_ " They paused and ticked a finger in the air, " _Oh, wait, sorry, you already spent yours on murder magic, I'm afraid you don't qualify._ "

Sans groaned. "i was a kid!"

"I'm eight." Frisk said.

" _They're eight._ " Chara repeated to rub things in.

"i know, i know. can't a guy have a little petty jealousy?"

" _You can have as much petty jealousy as you want._ "

"thanks," Sans said sarcastically.

They stared at the ceiling in silence.

Frisk sighed, "This is much better at Blook's house."

Sans made a faint noise of agreement.

"You said you'd teach me magic." Frisk said, "I promise I'll learn whatever I have to, I really will."

"yeah."

Frisk said plaintively, "I really, really promise. Peese Sans?"

He frowned slightly and let his arm drop back to his side, "don't use that baby talk on me."

"Baby talk?" Frisk said in confusion.

Sans said, "sometimes when you talk with pap and undyne, everybody really, you talk like you're a lot younger than you are, baby talk, but when you get serious you sound, dunno, your age, i guess. maybe you don't do it on purpose. maybe you do. don't use it on me. i hate feelin like i'm being manipulated."

"Oh..." Frisk said softly, "...I didn' realize."

They heard Papyrus bound up the stairs and turned to look as he burst into the room, "DINNER IS-!" he paused and narrowed his eyes, "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?"

"Laying on the floor," Frisk said.

"feeling like garbage," Sans said.

" _It's a family tradition._ "

Chara and Sans looked at each other and snorted.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS INSIDE JOKE IS BUT I DON'T LIKE IT!" Papyrus stepped forward and scooped Sans and Chara up, one under each arm. "I ESPECIALLY DON'T LIKE THAT I DON'T KNOW THE JOKE!"

Chara couldn't stop giggling all the way down to the table where Papyrus sat them both down with care. He sighed and smiled and patted them both on the head. They all sat down together and ate spaghetti for dinner and watched a little tv before going to bed.

The next day not much happened. MK did a little more healing and managed to fix all the tiny cracks in their soul, but couldn't budge the larger crack through the center. Papyrus took Frisk with him to recalibrate his puzzles and Sans followed them around, carrying Frisk's backpack with him. Night came and dinner and bedtime, they were nervous so it took Frisk a while to finally fall asleep, even with hot cocoa and a bedtime story.

Nothing bad at all happened.

And.

Morning came.

.

(a/n: next update wednesday the 22nd.

This chapter ended up getting hella long but since it's the last reprieve I decided to just keep writing for the whole week and only stop when I ran out of time so, enjoy.

The next/last part of the story is composed of very distinct sections and I don't want to separate those sections so the coming chapters might be longer than normal or shorter than normal. I'll probably also be cutting back on these notes so I don't distract. Man, I am so nervous though, I hope everyone likes it!)


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Sans nudged them awake. As Frisk rubbed the sleep from their eyes and sat up, Sans held out their backpack to them.

He was already dressed and looked half asleep and cranky, "move it, kid." he hissed, "if my bro wakes up-" he let the sentence hang in the open air.

Frisk nodded and quickly got up, glad they had worn their clothes to bed the night before. They pulled on their shoes and jacket. They pulled the backpack on and headed towards the door.

Sans caught up to them in a few short steps, threw his arm over their shoulder and with a lurch and breathless moment of nothingness they were outside, snow crunching underfoot, in front of the long bridge right before town.

Frisk shivered at the brief vision of Sans' magic. Every time they saw it, they were able to make out just a little bit more of what he was doing. It was always so beautiful. Sans folded the world around him like a sculptor, every piece of his magic had a purpose, nothing was ever mislaid. Whereas their magic... their magic really was just brute force. They didn't work with the world, they just used determination to bend it to their will. They were like a child with play-do to Sans' Michelangelo. Frisk shook the thought from their head, they would learn.

Sans stretched and yawned, "well, let's get this over with," he grabbed a strap on his shoulder and lifted their stick from his back and held it out.

Frisk stared at the stick, "...but..."

"better safe than sorry." Sans said, waggling the end of it in front of their face.

Chara snatched it away from him and awkwardly hitched over one shoulder, pressing against the backpack.

Sans pointed across the snow poff field, "there's a trail that runs down the ridge, right behind greater dog's station, it'll lead you down into the valley. there should be a path at the bottom, if it's snowed over just follow the gap in the trees. it's a pretty straight line." He pushed his hands into his pockets, "i'll keep watch up here and make sure no one goes down there til you're finished."

Frisk wrapped their hand around the backpack strap, "You don't think it will work."

"nah," Sans said lightly.

Frisk tightened their grip.

"do you?" Sans asked, "really?"

Frisk said, "I have to try."

Sans shrugged, "suit yourself... should probably save though."

" _For when it all goes wrong?_ " Chara said sourly.

"you said it, not me." He settled deeper into his jacket, tucking his chin against his chest and letting his eyes drift shut.

For a moment Frisk considered asking Sans to come with them but they knew it would be a bad idea. Flowey wouldn't listen to them at all if Sans was there.

Frisk closed their eyes and made a save point then crossed the bridge. They glanced back briefly at Sans who was already dozing on his feet and gripped the straps of their backpack a little tighter.

They found the narrow path running along the ridge line that zigzagged down the incline to the thickly forested valley below. The shadows grew longer and deeper the further down they went. As their eyes adjusted they were reminded of those clear snowy nights with no moon, yet the stars seemed to fill the snow with a soft glow. What little sound was in the cavern seemed to be absorbed by the trees and the tall rock walls, leaving them in deafening silence.

At the bottom of the ridge they found the trail, well marked by many footprints and also a few rough arrows scratched into the tree bark along the path. Frisk followed the trail, their heart pounding in their chest. The trees opened up and spread, ringing around a small meadow of snow.

They paused at the entrance. Frisk unslung the backpack and squeezed it between their arms. The stick on their back felt strange and uncomfortable. Sans' words echoed in their head and sunk to their feet like lead. They felt awful, like a foolish, stupid child that didn't know better. They just wanted it to work, this one small thing. If this worked so many other things would be happier, easier. They gripped the backpack tightly in their arms so they could feel the soul container within it and the faint glowing sensation of the soul.

Dry snow crunched underfoot as they walked forward. Frisk could feel where the flower was hidden under the ground, a glowing lamp of magic in this deserted place.

"Flowey." Frisk said.

There was no response.

Frisk raised their voice, "Flowey!"

They felt him shift like a snake beneath the earth. There were vines too, they could feel them creeping beneath the snow. Frisk swallowed hard and made a teleport point. They walked out to the middle of the meadow and stopped in front of where they could feel him, "Asriel."

The ground beneath their feet shuddered faintly as his vines twitched.

The vines were spread under most of the clearing now.

Frisk shifted their grip on their bag, sliding the straps over one arm and grabbing the stick with their free hand, tugging it free of its sheath. "Asriel, I know you're here."

They tapped the ground above Flowey with their stick and jumped back as a vine shot up, coiling where their stick had been just seconds before.

Flowery pushed through the ground, shaking snow from his petals. The vine slithered across the top of the snow, curling around the base of Flowey's stem. "Well?" he snapped, "I've played your little game. I was good," his face twisted in a malevolent smile, "now give me my prize."

Frisk glanced down at their feet and took a few more steps back. "First, pull all your vines back," Frisk said.

"What?" Flowey said with innocent confusion, "The only vine I have is right here." he gestured to the coiled vine around him with one leaf.

Frisk made another teleport point, "I can feel them. Under the ground, all around the clearing."

Flowey narrowed his eyes, "I promised to be play by your rules up to this point, just give me the soul."

Frisk took another step back, "I'll reload."

Flowey rolled his eyes. The ground shivered as his vines pulled back and disappeared beneath him. His gestured with his leaves impatiently, "SoOoUuuUL!"

Frisk slowly reached over to the zipper on top of the backpack and stopped, "You know we got this so you could feel again. We want to help you."

"...awesome," Flowey said flatly, started to roll his eyes again but stopped himself.

" _Just promise you'll try._ " Chara said.

Flowey twitched at the sound of their voice and frowned.

" _Please, Azzy._ "

Flowey narrowed his eyes, then slowly his face relaxed. He smiled. "I'll try. For you, Chara," he said sweetly.

Chara narrowed their eyes, " _That's the voice you used to use on Toriel when you wanted something. Or when you were in trouble. It's your bullshit voice. I'm not stupid, Asriel._ "

Flowey's eyes narrowed slightly, "could've fooled me," he muttered.

" _I heard that!_ " Chara said.

Flowey stuck out his tongue, "Good."

Chara wanted to stomp in frustration but they held themselves back. Now was not the time.

Frisk looked at Flowey, all spit and fury, jaded beyond his years. It was so hard to see this angry, violent flower as the kid in the green and yellow sweater they had hugged after the barrier broke.

Their brow furrowed and their mouth tightened into a thin line, "Maybe..." they searched Flowey's face for any sign, even a flicker that he was was willing to give this a shot but, they found nothing, "...maybe, Sans was right," They said crestfallen, the last of their hope dwindling away, "this was never gonna to work, was it?"

Flowey twitched, his gentle facade falling away, his face twisting into something toothed and black, "You IDIOT!" The vine coiled around his stem shot out, wrapping around the backpack and wrenching it from their arm so hard they were pulled to the ground with it.

Frisk gasped as a jolt of pain went through their shoulder. They stumbled to their feet, back away from Flowey, clutching both hands around the stick and lifting it defensively.

The zipper on the backpack gave feeble resistance to the questing vines, tearing open with clawing metallic noise. Flowey tossed the bag behind him with careless flick. He curled his vine around the soul container, other vines broke free from the soil and gripped the release on the top.

Frisk felt a sudden, deep anxiety and reached for their last save point.

 _Please._ It was more like a thought than a word, as Chara stared at Flowey transfixed with hope.

Flowey causally popped the soul container open, curling a long vine around the floating green soul, "This is what you wanted, isn't it? Huh, _Chara_?" He snorted and pressed the soul against his stem, forcing into him. "Well, it'll make it a lot easier for me to kill you and end this stupid charade."

" _Azzy, don't!_ " Chara pleaded, " _Please, try and feel! Try and use the soul and maybe-_ "

Flowey flung the empty container at them.

Frisk lurched to the side, the container glancing off their arm and making them flinch in pain.

Vines snaked out from the container's shadow. They glided around Frisk's arm, curling around their body, winding them tight and squeezing.

Every second that ticked by the vines grew thicker until they were the same thickness as Frisk's arms. Flowey grew with them, his petals and head swelling until he was as big as they were, his yellow petals and vines were stained by black streaks like sepsis, spreading and growing darker as the souls' power spread through him.

They gasped as the vines ground their arms to their sides, trying to press the air from them.

" _-A-Azzy-!_ " Chara cried out, tears pricking at the corner of their eyes.

Frisk focused inward, looking for their last save point and dreading the worst. Relief washed over them, it was there! But faint. It was like a dying flame, small and flickering in and out of existence as their determination and Flowey's fought for supremacy.

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" Flowey squeezed them harder until they writhed in pain.

Frisk grasped for one of the teleport points and pulled them to it desperately.

Their feet landed back on snow and quickly stumbled backwards, raising the stick they had somehow managed to hold onto.

"That little trick!" Flowey crowed, "I've seen you do that one." He lashed a vine out at them, forcing them to duck, roll through the snow and run to try and get out of his reach but there was quickly becoming no place out of his reach. The vines were spreading.

"The thing about that little trick-" two vines lunged towards their face and they tried to hit them away, "-is that you always pause to make one of your teleport points and I've been watching you since you came in," A vine rose up from the snow behind them, coiling around their ankle and flinging them up into the air, "and you only had time for two."

Frisk teleported to the furthest point, already ready to move, their mind racing. If they were going to reload they needed time to fix the save point in their mind and pull them back and Flowey wasn't giving it to them.

"I was listening too, when you said, your teleport points fade after you use them too much." Vines were snaking around the circumference of the meadow, blocking off all avenues of escape. "I was always listening," He grinned with a sharp mouth, his fangs painted with black.

" _Come on, Azzy!_ " Chara panted, " _Do you remember-_ " They jumped to the side. Frisk raised the stick and hit Flowey's vine with all their strength. It recoiled only briefly then came at them again.

Frisk teleported them ahead to the closer point, they raised the stick and started forward- Chara pulled them back, " _Do you remember when I first fell?_ " they panted, " _You found me and helped me and-_ "

Vines entered their peripheral vision on either side, Frisk felt two more at their back. No choice. They teleported back to the other point. The teleport point was almost faded to non-existence, one more.

"It's almost gone isn't it?!" Flowey laughed, vines roiling around him like a wave. Black dots began to appear on the vines closest to him and spread and grow, sharp and long; thorns as big as shark teeth, "It's too bad you don't have a _knife_." Flowey smiled evilly, "Maybe, you can cut me with that stupid locket-!"

" _You- You said you liked my name_ ," Chara said.

Frisk summoned up their determination to try and refresh the teleport point.

" _Do you remember-"_

A vine curled up their back, wrapping around their waist and lifting them in the air upside down.

They gasped, their free hand clawing at the vine as thorns inched along their spine. One squeeze and-

"It's my soul that's gone not my brain, YOU IDIOT!" Flowey snapped, "Of course, I remember! I. Just. Don't. Care," He tightened his vine a little more with every word, "Come on! Teleport! Do it! Or I'll break you in half and load my own save." He squeezed-

Frisk teleported to the point right in front of Flowey, staggering as the blood rushed from their head.

"I mean, I'm going to kill you anyway," Flowey said, his head tilting to one side thoughtfully, as his vines lazily herded them around the clearing like sheep, "Once I do, I'll reload to before you fell down here, then, as soon as you do fall," he smiled to himself, "I'll kill you and pluck you soul out of the air. I won't play around this time, I've learned my lesson." A vine shot up from under the snow, snatching the stick from their hand and lifting it high out of reach.

"No-!" Frisk reached after the stick. A vine, black with thorns, whipped towards their side. Frisk teleported back, a shudder of fear running up their spine as the teleport point dissipated.

"Once I have your soul, no one will ever have more determination than me ever again. This is my world!" He raised the stick, coiled between two vines and snapped it in half like a toothpick, " _MINE_!" He hissed.

Frisk yelled in wordless frustration, squeezing their hands into fists, eyes pricking with tears as Flowey tossed the two pieces of stick over his shoulder.

"You think I'm going to just magically be 'myself' again because you gave me a _soul_?" Flowey mocked, his vine dragged through the snow, slowly moving towards Frisk, forcing them to keep backing away, "Are you _STUPID?_ This soul is too human, too full. All it is is _power_. NOTHING more!"

" _I just want to SAVE you!_ " Chara cried, " _I just-_ "

"SHUT UP!" Flowey yelled, vines raced towards them from the other direction cornering them.

Frisk teleported them to the point in front of Flowey, feeling the point disappear as the last of the determination in it faded. Frisk spun in a desperate circle, vines wove through the trees, filled the path with a thicket of thorns, there was no escape.

"HeeHeeHee!" Flowey giggled and clapped his leaves together in absolute pleasure, "They're all gone now aren't they?! I'll tell you, I can't feel happiness but golly, I feel satisfied! Winning is just about the most stimulating thing there is!"

" _Why won't you let me fix this?! Why won't you even try?!_ " Chara shouted.

Flowey laughed and laughed. Around them vines moved, circling in on them, raising up and lashing out at them to force Frisk to keep dodging.

"Now." Flowey said leisurely, resting his head on his leaves, "I _could_ kill you with magic, tear your little soul to pieces, but that's no fun at all. Here I finally get to fight a human, it would be a shame not to see you _bleed_."

As they watched Flowey's thorns seemed to lengthen, stretching to needle thinness.

"Chara, HELP ME!" Frisk said desperately, "I NEED YOU TO HELP ME!"

Chara breath rattled in their chest. They roughly wiped their eyes free of tears and nodded.

"Thank god!" Frisk sagged in internal relief, they said, Now, get ready because this could go horribly wrong.

Frisk focused on patch of ground outside of Flowey's ring of vines.

Flowey raised a vine, studded with thorns like a mace. "This is going to be so much fun!" he crowed.

Chara braced themselves, staring up at the vine in silent terror.

Frisk was Filled With Determination, and used that determination to _push_ themselves to that point in the snow.

Snow skidded underfoot, trees and shifting thorn-covered vines rose up in front of them like a wall.

" _Whoa!_ " Chara bounced back from the vines, quickly spinning back towards the middle of the clearing, raising their arms defensively. But nothing was coming at them. " _What was that?_ " they hissed under their breath.

I pushed instead of pulled, Frisk said quickly, gathering determination to themselves to teleport again, Too much determination. I overshot.

"WHAT?!" Flowey echoed, whipping his head around and narrowing his eyes when he caught sight of them, "You little-! When did you put a teleport point there?!" Vines sped across the snow towards them, "You think you can trick me?! I'm going to make you regret that! I'm gonna make you regret everything!"

Frisk steeled themselves, took a metaphorical deep breath, and pushed again, teleporting behind Flowey. Frisk snatched back control and looked around frantically until they spotted a glimmer of something dark amongst the snow. They ran towards it, snatching up the broken half of the stick, it's end coming to a splintered and jagged point. Frisk tightened their hands around it, ducking and slinking behind Flowey sightline as he looked for them, yelling in frustration.

We've only got one chance at this, Frisk said, giving Chara control of their body, If you can hurt him enough that his determination falters, I might be able to reach my last save point.

Chara's voice shook like a leaf, " _h-hurt him?_ " they whispered, " _i-i-i ca-can't-! i-i-_ "

You _have_ to, Frisk said flatly, I have to load the save and you can't use my magic. You have to, Chara.

Chara pulled the stick close to their body, hands shaking, " _even when you fought Asgore i didn't- i-couldn't-_ "

A vine snapped around their waist, jerking them up and around to Flowey's face.

"Well, well, well." He snarled, his eyes were black, the black stains were long on his face and petals. "Stooped to stopping time now? I almost forgot you could do that." his eye twitched and he pulled them even closer, "But that little trick won't work now," he squeezed.

Thorns dragged tighter across their skin, cutting across their skin, curling up their waist and back.

Chara cried out, tears dripped off their lashes into the snow, " _don't make me, don't make me, don't make me, Azzy! Please!_ " they begged, gripping the stick so tightly their knuckles turned white, " _i can't hurt you again!_ " they sobbed wretchedly.

"Kill or be killed." Flowey said flatly, squeezing tighter, narrowing his eyes and looking at them like he was studying a bug, squirming against the pin stuck through its body. "Kill or be killed. Chara said kill or be killed and I didn't kill so I was killed." He squeezed, "...This time..."

Are you ready? Frisk asked softly.

Chara whimpered.

Chara? Frisk prompted gently as they could, baring as much of the pain as they dared, scared to push too hard, scared they wouldn't push enough. This isn't like the last time we fought Flowey, Frisk said, he's not gonna keep reloading to toy with us over and over again. We're too close to taking the timeline back, he's not going to play with us, he's going to kill us and-

" _i-i'll do it._ " Chara breathed, shaking the tears from their eyes, " _...i'll do it..._ "

I know you can, Frisk shifted their focus entirely to their determination, here – we – go! Frisk pushed them, a short distance, teleporting front of Flowey, right below where he had been holding them. They showed Chara were the mass of Flowey's magic and the green soul were, in the center of his stem right below his head.

Chara ran, raising the stick like a spear and running into Flowey with all their weight and force, bruising the stick against their sternum. They closed their eyes as the stick met brief resistance, then punctured the thick stem and pierced through the other side.

Chara sobbed.

Flowey screamed.

Frisk reached for their save point and-

The world snapped back and they were standing in front of the bridge. Sans was beside them tucking in his chin for a nap.

They took a sudden deep breath, the cold stinging their lungs. Their body was cold and stiff with sleep. No sweat clung to them, no cuts graced their intact clothes, the stick in its sheath was unbroken. They took another deep breath, it shook. Chara trembled inside of them like a dried pea in a walnut shell. They felt empty and stupid and tired.

Sans looked over at them expectantly.

"It didn't work," Frisk choked out, their whole body shaking.

He shrugged, "i didn't think it would."

Frisk closed their eyes and grasped out.

"you know there's gonna be-"

They found what they were looking for, pushed with their determination and disappeared.

Sans stared at the empty space were they had been standing, "...shit."

.

.

(Next Update: Wednesday 29th, hopefully, it may end up being a day or two late fyi.)


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Frisk paused at the border of Snowdin. Took a deep breath. Tried to stop shaking. They closed their eyes and remembered the place in front of Gerson's shop. It took them a few minutes to pin it down exactly. A surge of determination for the push, their mind for the guide. They held their breath as the world blinked in and out of existence and the ground beneath their feet changed, the world became lit by sparkling crystals.

They hurried a few steps away so Gerson wouldn't spot them. It wouldn't do any good if anyone could find out where they were going.

Frisk shook their head, closed their eyes and focused their mind on the next place. It was getting a little easier but they were still careful to make sure of the exact location they were going to before using the slightest amount of determination. They didn't want to die, not if they didn't have to.

They checked and double checked and summoned up another surge of determination. The gravel beneath their feet disappeared, and there was tile, grungy and yellowed. They stumbled and fell to their hands and knees. Their right knee throbbed. Frisk sat back to examine it, bruised, but not bleeding. Sans was right, they thought vaguely, teleporting to different elevations is tricky.

... _Is this... the lab? The empty, scary, no one works here anymore lab?_ Chara demanded, _Why are we in the lab?!_

Frisk stood up, "Only Alphys knows we've been here so I don't think anyone will find us, at least-"

 _Why!? WHY?!_

Frisk balled their hands into fists and fought against the waves of frustration, their own and Chara's threatening to join into a single overwhelming feeling.

"Cause I need time and a place with a bed and food and cause-"

 _I don't understand, it failed, our plan failed we... I failed him again I-_

"STOP IT!" Frisk snapped, roughly throwing their backpack onto ground. "JUST-!" They spun to one of the plastic ficus in the corner, pulling the stick free from its sheathe and gripped it so tightly their hands hurt. Frisk swung the stick through the ficus, plastic leaves scattered to the floor, the stems wavered. They hit them again and again. The plastic bent, broke, thin wire exposed. The ficus shuddered and bent.

 _...!_

They hit the stems until the pot fell over on the stained tile. Frisk's jaw clenched, their teeth grinding together, as they squeezed the smooth wood in their hands. They raised the stick and brought it down as hard as they could. _CRACK-!_ Cheap pottery shattered and skittering across the floor like shrapnel. They hit it over and over again until their their stick rebounded off the tile sending a shock up their arms. All that was left were shards. Their hands ached and the end of the stick was covered in pale scratches.

Frisk panted, staring at mess, it seemed bigger than one pot really ought to have been. They unclenched their hand and let the stick shake free. It clattered to the floor with a ringing noise and rolled a few steps away.

Chara was mute with shock.

Frisk grabbed the backpack, went to the vending machine and bought as many different things as their arms could hold and carried them further into the lab. They went to the room with all the beds; picking the bed closest to the back door so they could run and hide if someone came looking. They dumped everything on the bed and climbed up, grabbing the backpack and unzipping it.

Frisk tugged the soul container out and turned the glass cylinder round and round in their hands, the soul twisting gently with each movement. They sat it between their legs and summoned their own soul, it shone red, the light reflecting off the glass and mixing with the muted green light in a strange way. Absentmindedly, they reached out and made a save point.

They opened the soul container.

The green soul began to rise, ready to float away and eventually decay as it would have naturally before being sealed away. Frisk tilted the soul container so their own soul blocked the green soul's escape. Immediately it was pushed back. It reminded Frisk of when they had played with magnets and how two like poles would push away from one another. But they had been able to push the magnets together too, it had been hard but not impossible.

Frisk focused on the soul. The red of their soul grew brighter and the green soul took on a halo of red light that slowly grew stronger and thicker like a mist.

 _...what are you doing?_ Chara asked hesitantly.

Frisk tilted their head, "...dunno if it'll work..."

 _But what-?_

"Shh."

Frisk's brow furrowed. They cloaked the soul in determination, until all traces of green were hidden. Frisk pressed their determination tighter, the green soul twitched and tried to move away but there was nowhere to go. Their determination finally managed to press against the outside of the green soul; Frisk shuddered, it was an itchy, uncomfortable feeling.

Touching the soul, they could feel the other souls' composition the kindness, patience, integrity, courage, and determination of its own, all jumbled together in a kaleidoscope of constantly moving light and energy. It was hard to focus on one thing and even when they did, it would disappear like the silver flash of a fish underwater.

Slow and careful wouldn't work then. Frisk watched and for a moment felt a patch of deeper blue and lunged for it. Determination strained against the skin of soul and then pierced through, sharp as a needle, latching onto the integrity and dragging it out of the soul.

Frisk jumped, they could smell eggs and bacon and hear sizzling and remember smiling face they had never seen before greeting them as they ran into the kitchen and- they shuddered and shook their head violently.

A dark blue fluid oozed out of the green soul, puddling beneath the small heart in a circle; pushing higher than a normal liquid as if it were reaching up and trying to reconnect with its soul.

 _What was that?!_ Chara said in utter horror, _What did you do?_

Frisk stared at the puddle of liquid, reaching up. They made sure the green soul was completely wrapped in determination so it couldn't go anywhere and tilted the container over the edge of the bed until the liquid ran out, dripping onto the floor like paint. The container clicked as they resealed it.

 _Frisk?_

Their soul throbbed.

 _Frisk!_ Chara demanded.

Frisk stared at glass container, "Asriel couldn't use the soul cause it has too much human in it. I'm gonna take out the human things." They shivered and shook their head again as the strange memory came to mind once again.

 _Then...that was a memory from the soul?_ Chara sounded sick.

"You felt it too?"

 _I don't think we should, you should... This doesn't feel right...!_

"It'll work." Frisk said, "I'm sure it'll work."

 _It's... this soul belongs to someone else. Your plan... you'll kill them won't you? This will kill them..._

"They're already dead, though." Frisk said, "They've been dead for a long time."

 _But there's still some of that kid in that soul! Enough to reject Azzy, enough to leave that memory in your head._

"...But they're still dead." Frisk said softly.

 _It feels wrong._

Frisk stared at the green soul bobbing anemically, it looked paler than before.

A wave of Chara's despair and indecision washed over them.

"You know how sometimes people are organ donors? When they die the parts of the persons body gets given to other people, and can save their lives, or let them see again when they were blind and stuff like that. The pieces were once part of the person but they don't make up the person because that person died," Frisk looked at the soul. "This person is dead but Asriel is alive and maybe with this soul he can be whole again."

 _...But organ donors made a choice._

Frisk snapped, "They didn't get a choice! They were killed! Last time we were here their soul was used to break the barrier, they didn't get a choice in that either! They're dead! They're just a rotting body stuffed in a basement where no one has to look at them or think about them. They're-! They-!" Frisk throat tightened and they blinked back tears, "...The only thing I'm killing is a memory…They're dead..."

 _Azzy's a memory._

"Shut up."

 _I'm a memory._

Frisk pressed their hands to their ears, "SHUT UP!"

 _Why are you so mad?_

"...because I don't want to be wrong," they said, "because i'm doing this for you and I want you to be happy and you're not!"

Chara almost choked on their words, _….I thought, I thought you wanted to too, I thought you wanted to save him too–!_

"i did... before..." Frisk said softly.

 _Before Pap?_ Chara said.

Frisk nodded.

They shifted on the bed. The soul container tipped over onto its side amongst the sheets and vending machine snacks.

 _I don't want to do it._ Chara said.

Frisk stared down at the sheets, they twisted the edge of their shirt in their hands.

 _All of this._ Chara gestured broadly, " _All of this! I don't want it. I don't want you to do this for me!_ " Their voice echoed around the empty room, coming back at them as a formless shout, " _What do YOU want, Frisk?! Frisk? What do YOU want for YOURSELF?_ "

"You never want anything!" Frisk shot back defensively.

" _Neither do you!_ " Chara snapped.

"I want to do something for you! I want to make you happy!"

Chara balled their hands into fists, " _So do I!_ "

They panted, face flushed hot; both trying not to cry.

"Just..." Frisk said softly, "you've already done everything for me."

Chara rolled their eyes, " _No I haven't,_ " They sneered, " _I've only ever ruined things and hurt people, Azzy and my parents, the whole underground and then I took your happiness away too._ "

"But you're here," Frisk circled their arms around themselves, hugging their shoulders, "you're here..." They squeezed their eyes shut tight, "You're the only person who can never abandon me..."

" _...Frisk._ " Chara hugged their shoulders tighter.

Overhead the old tube lights flickered.

" _Frisk?_ " Chara's back stiffened ramrod straight, "... _Frisk?_ " they whispered.

Silence answered them back.

Chara felt out for them but felt only the faintest trace of Frisk, deeply withdrawn in the furthest corner of their mind.

" _...Frisk?_ "

Chara stared at the bed and dimly lit room and was alone. They quickly got off the bed, stumbling to the side when they almost stepped on the ooze on the floor. Chara pulled their hands into their sleeves as they began to walk about the lab from room to room. It had been unbearably creepy when they had first found the amalgamates but empty was somehow even worse. They looked longingly at the elevator as they went through the foyer but shook their head and kept walking on.

" _...Frisk?_ "

Chara found themselves in the tv room. They played some of Alphys cartoons but none of them held their interest very long, there was a reason they were down here and not up in her main collection, they were awful. A few were so badly dubbed they were almost funny but mostly Chara couldn't get through the first episode.

" _...Frisk?_ "

As they took each video out of the player and put it away Chara reached out for Frisk and felt only that faint whisper that they were still there.

" _...Frisk?_ "

They wouldn't respond.

Chara's hand kept drifting back to the home videos with their blank unmarked spines. They pulled one out and stared at it for a long time before putting it in the machine and pressing play. Not all of them were sad, or black with the lens cap on either.

" _...Frisk?_ "

Under the dim flickering lights, dust coating every surface, they watched the videos over and over again.

"I...I don't like this idea..." Asriel's voice shook.

Chara squeezed their hands together, their eyes bleary from staring at the black screen.

"Yeah, you're right." He sounded so resigned.

" _I was wrong._ " Chara said softly.

"We'll be strong! We'll free everyone."

Chara shook their head and stopped the video, "... _Frisk...?_ " put in the next one and pressed play. Their hands squeezed together so tightly their joints turned white. They stared at the screen.

"Please... wake up... I don't like this plan anymore. I... I..." He had been trying so hard not to cry even though his fur was marked with tear trails. They remembered that vividly.

"...no, I said... I said I'd never doubt you."

Chara shook their head and looked down at their hands, " _you should have..._ "

"Six, right? We just have to get six... and we'll do it together, right?"

" _...frisk...?_ "

Chara rewound it and played it again and again, and again. The video ended in static, they reached up to rewind it again and their stomach gurgled loudly in the sudden quiet. They looked down in surprise and their finger moved, ejecting the video and putting it away.

" _...frisk...?_ "

They went back to the bed and opened a sketchy looking candy bar. It was monster food so it wasn't spoiled, which was good, but monsters made terrible chocolate. Magic just didn't taste the same. They ate it anyway and opened a bag of popato chisps.

A chisp froze half-way to their mouth as they felt Frisk unfurl, " _Frisk?_ " The feeling of them got stronger, " _Frisk?!_ " Chara's voice was edged with worry and near panic.

"...sorry..." Frisk said softly, nibbling on the edge of the chisp.

" _Don't do that again! Ever!_ " Chara scolded, trying to hide the shaking in their voice, " _It was... scary._ "

"sorry." Frisk repeated.

" _You were gone for hours_ ," Chara said, " _Hours! Why? What were you-?_ "

"I had to be sure. I had to be one hundred and twenty million percent sure..." Frisk fiddled with the chisp then dropped it back in the bag, " 'cause I can't go back..." their brow furrowed, "I can't undo telling you, you'll always know... i'm afraid that you'll hate me."

... _Tell me._

"I'm gonna do it, pull all the stuff out of the soul..."

Chara shook their head, " _But, I've been thinking about that and can a soul with all the human removed, can it even be used to break the barrier? If it works and Azzy can feel again would he want to absorb the other souls and the souls of the underground to break the barrier again?_ "

Frisk put the chisp bag on the bed and turned to the soul container, stared at the green soul.

" _I... I know the final fight with Azzy was horrible but maybe it would be better to just do it again and break the barrier..._ "Chara hesitated and then went on, " _I just don't see how it can work._ "

Frisk took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. "...I'm not going to break the barrier."

" _What?_ "

The lights pinged softly overhead and flickered.

"I'm not going to break the barrier," Frisk repeated.

"… _Are you serious?_ "Chara breathed.

Frisk nodded, "I'm going to keep everyone here, where I can protect them."

 _B-but they want to go to the surface. They want to be free-!_

"They're safe here."

" _But, Frisk..._ " Chara implored.

Frisk shook their head. "You asked me what I want, this is what I want," they looked down at their shirt and fiddled with the edge and its neat tiny stitches, "I'll do my best to make everyone happy. I promise I will..." their voice drifted off and their mouth pressed into a thin line as their brow furrowed.

 _How long_ -, The words choked inside them. Chara tried again, forcing them out, _How long have you been thinking about... about doing this?_

"Since that time Undyne took me to watch anime with Alphys..." they rolled the fabric between their fingers, "maybe before... but I wasn't certain until what happened with Pap."

 _...I- ...I ...see..._

"It's just, I know..." Frisk's voice dropped to a whisper, "I know you'n Asriel died to try and break the barrier and... and you know that we could break it again..."

 _What? Me? I..._ They chuckled humorlessly, _I wanted to break it_ for _them, hope of humans and monsters and all that garbage._ _I couldn't care less about going back to the surface. Humanity is a dubious shithole of apathy, at best mind you... well, bar one exception._

"So you're not mad at me?" Frisk asked quietly.

 _NO. No. I'm not, never..._ _I'm the master of horrendous terrible plans and let me tell you, this isn't that bad at all. No one has to die or get hurt for you plan._ Chara paused, _...It's a heavy secret though, we'll have to keep it for the rest of our lives..._

Frisk nodded.

 _And you won't be able to be a kid as much, you know? Taking care of the whole Underground, protecting it, that's...we'll have to grow up so fast._

"There'll be a little time for playing... probably."

Chara snorted, _Probably._

"You're really not mad at me?" Frisk asked.

 _We're in this together, right?_

Frisk smiled, "Right."

 _So...the soul...you, you're going to-_

"Take all the human out," Frisk said.

 _Right._ Chara braced themselves, _Right. Just promise me you won't crack your soul this time._

Frisk nodded, "I'll go slow."

... _we should get a bucket for that goo and something to wipe up that stuff on the floor. I think I remember seeing a janitor's closet._

Frisk picked up the chisps again and ate them as Chara directed them to the cleaning closet where they found a warped plastic bucket that was once whitish and was now yellowish. They dumped a roll of paper towels in the bucket and carried it back to the bed, unrolling about half the paper towels and dropping the wad unceremoniously on the puddle of integrity.

They took up the soul container again as they sat on the bed. They pressed on the latch and pulled their hand back.

Chara was roiling with discomfort.

Frisk hesitated.

 _Just do it._ Chara said miserably, _Like a bandaid, just do it quick._

Frisk tilted the container back watched the gently bobbing soul. They took a deep breath and told the soul, "...I know you didn't have a choice but this is really important. So I'm really sorry." They smiled faintly, "Thank you though."

They felt something like an intake of breath. Chara pushed forward abruptly, pressing their hand to the glass, " _So, so sorry._ " They lifted the tube and rested their forehead against the glass, " _Thank you, whoever you were. Your sacrifice won't be in vain. I_ promise _._ "

Frisk nodded and pressed their hand over their heart. The bright red glow of their soul dimmed the shadows and pushed the green soul back as they opened the container. They cut out some patience next, a gentle pale blue, that thop-thopped as it drained into the plastic bucket beside the bed. Kindness was the next piece of soul the wrenched out, there was a lot of it, but they were certain they missed some. It mixed with the patience in the bucket, the two colors spinning away from one another.

With each bit of soul came more fragments of memories, mostly about cooking, although some were more random; a memory of mud puddles, a memory of being alone while surrounded by other children, a memory of a hospital room. The memory of the hospital room was especially strong, the smell and the feeling of a hand in theirs, rough calluses and bonier than it should be, with tubes feeding into it. That memory made their chest ache. They had to stop and cry for a long time after that memory came to rest in their heart.

Frisk ate when they felt their soul energy weaken. They slept when the memories were too much, tears leaking into the musty pillow as they drifted off to sleep punctuated by strange dreams. The liquid slowly covered the bottom to the bucket. The colors broke down over time, fading and mixing into a greyish black that smelled like the rotting earthiness of a swamp with a hint of something metallic. The green soul lost color. It wasn't noticeable at first, just a slightly paler green but soon that had faded to pastel then a white tinged with green. They didn't take everything, they knew they should leave a little of every color, a scaffolding to hold the soul together, but not enough to influence.

They took the green souls determination last. It was the easiest to spot and they could have ripped it out from the very beginning but... but it made them nervous. Whenever their determination pierced the souls surface, the green soul's determination would drift towards them. Frisk knew they couldn't leave it. The green soul's determination added to Flowey's own had rivaled their own and he had almost taken the timeline back. Frisk wasn't going to risk it again.

Red determination punctured through the soul surface one last time and the other's determination flooded to them, clung, sticky, on their determination. It tingled, made their soul ache, a nails on chalkboard feeling down their back. They grabbed all but a pinhead of it and dragged it out, letting the soul seal up behind them. No red liquid dripped to the bottom of the container. Frisk squirmed and slammed the soul container shut, pushing their soul away into their chest with both hands. They soul container fell over as they fell back into the bed, pressing their face in the pillow and curling every inch of their body towards their soul as it shuddered and itched and grated inside of them.

Memories flooded over them, memories of the Underground but not their journey, a different journey, different monster met, puzzles, cooking, friends made, monsters killed, despair slowly overwhelming their determination until-

They watched them all, watched the memories like they were their own and felt everything that had happened like a stamp on their mind. Their fingers twitched, knees uncurled, as the memories faded back. Their soul felt too tight. The new determination thrummed like a living thing inside them, now theirs and yet still wholly unique.

" _Why do your plans always involve_ you _getting hurt?_ " Chara muttered, tugging the sheet free from the tangled mess at the foot of the bed and pulling it up over their head.

Frisk shrugged vaguely.

They wrapped their arms around the pillow and squeezed it tight to their chest.

 _Sleep._ Chara prompted.

"Nap." Frisk said softly, letting their eyes drift shut.

Chara narrowed their eyes, _Sleep._

"Mm," Frisk murmured already half asleep. Their hand gripped the fabric of their shirt above their soul.

Chara pulled the locket out of the shirt, running their finger over the delicate, swirling engravings. They used a fingernail to pop it open and stared at the little picture of Azzy and them, faded and scratched. On the other side of the locket engraved in cursive, _Best Friends Forever._ Chara pressed their thumb against the words, trying to feel the engraving through their fingertip. They closed the locket with a click, squeezed it tight in their hands and closed their eyes.

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a/n:

 _That emblem actually predates written history. The original meaning has been lost to time... All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes..._

 _Somethin' else._

 _Legend has it, an 'angel' who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom. Lately, the people have been taking a bleaker outlook... Callin' that circle the 'Angel of Death.' A harbinger of destruction, waitin' to 'free' us from this mortal realm... In my opinion, when I see that little circle..._

 _I jus' think it looks neat! Wahaha!_

Next update: 7/9, Saturday.


	42. Chapter 42

(a/n: Hey-o! So a quick note, last couple weeks my depression has been acting up which I why I've not really been replying to reviews and what-not. I just wanted to say thank you for all of them, I read and love them all! Last week's chapter got some pretty intense responses which I kinda don't have an answer to anyway, it's all bad things done for good reasons which, was a pretty huge theme in the game. Oh and, this story was always going to be a neutral run, sorry.

Along with my depression, how the end of the story will be received has been making me very anxious. So, in order to alleviate that anxiety, I decided I'll just post the last three chapters over three days, so today, tomorrow and monday, all roughly 24hrs apart. Like a bandaid, get it over with quick. I hope everyone likes it.)

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Chapter 42

Overhead the labs lights flickered. The were was the faint sound of footsteps, slowly growing louder as they approached the room with all the beds. Though they were less footsteps and more shuffles.

"here you are- fuck!" the bucket clattered, "wha...? what is...?"

Frisk opened one eye slightly. Sans was staring down at the plastic bucket on the floor and the black goo inside it.

They slowly sat up, sheets sliding off their back. "...Sans?"

"what, in the name of all that is magic, is that?" Sans pointed at the bucket

Frisk reached down to the end of the bed and picked up the soul container, setting it on the edge of the bed.

Sans looked at the container and focused on the soul, stepping closer to peer at the little heart. It was almost completely white and floated near the bottom of the container, listing on its side. He tapped a finger to the glass and the soul drifted towards him. "is this-?

"I took the human out." Frisk said.

Sans looked down at the bucket and back up at them.

"I couldn't do it with a monster soul." Frisk reassured him.

He raised one brow, a humorless grin pulled up one side of his mouth, "cause they'd shatter like an egg."

Frisk went on desperately, "I think this will work. I think Asriel can use this soul now."

"i read a book human book once," Sans muttered to himself, "jekyll and hyde or, no, maybe frankenstein?"

"Will you help?"

Sans turned away and walked away from them into the deeper shadows of the lab.

Frisk jumped off the bed and ran after him

"Will you help me?" Frisk called at his retreating back trying to hold back all the panic in their voice.

Sans stopped, "was it alive?"

Frisk stopped in their tracks, their throat getting so tight it hurt.

"was the soul- did it exhibit any consciousness when you 'interacted' with it, a voice or an emotional flood?"

Frisk opened their mouth but nothing came out. Their hands twitched open and closed, helplessly grasping at nothing.

" _There were fragments of memories and it would try to escape,_ " Chara said as calmly as they could through their choked throat.

"reflex actions." he relaxed.

" _I guess?_ " Chara said, crossing their arms over their chest, " _I remember being a soul inside Azzy and that green soul was nothing like that._ "

"so the soul was probably in late stage decay." Sans said slowly, "...i read a lot of research on soul decay, it was studied fairly intensely after the first human soul was taken. in order to see if there was a risk of them shattering with the passage of time. the soul stabilization containers maintain soul energy and prevent energy decay but the normal wave lengths of the soul associated with consciousness steadily decreased with time. regular interactions with the soul over time also indicated fewer emotional transferences and eventual lack of any attempted contact which coincided with a complete lack of the earlier referenced waves."

Chara swallowed hard, " _So they were... gone?_ "

"hm?" Sans turned to as if just remembering they were there, "gone? yeah, something like that. the... researcher, always posited that it was a death of the consciousness, connected to a natural human weakness of being biological creatures." he shook his head, "i always thought that being locked away in that tube is what killed them," he smiled humorlessly, "not a popular theory. but, i think, a soul can't live without hope and love; even human souls, tough as they are, need the stuff. "

Frisk kept their eyes fixed on their shoes.

"it's alright, kid." Sans said.

"But we could feel their memories, we- it felt like we were living them a-and... and" they bit down on their lip.

"think of it like this," Sans walked over to them, resting a hand gingerly on their small shoulder, "the soul is like a house. once, someone lived there, now they're gone but their things are still around, furniture, clothes, pictures on the wall, that sort of thing; that's all the memories were, things left behind. when you pulled out all the soul power, you ended up getting some of the furniture is all."

Frisk glanced up searching Sans face.

He squeezed their shoulder, "asgore killed that kid, and what was left of them died in that tube years ago. if anyone should feel guilty its us monsters, alright?"

"...ok."

He sighed, letting his hand fall back to his side, "i know that ain't much consolation but it's all i got."

" _Thank you,_ " Chara said so earnestly Sans eyes widened. They reached up and gripped the locket, tears of relief pricking at the corners of their eyes, " _Thank you._ "

"it was really tearing you up, huh?"

Chara nodded.

Sans winked at them, "nice to know you've had a change of _heart_."

A sputtering laugh escaped them, " _That's AWFUL!_ "

"you laughed."

" _The worst!_ "

He raised a brow, "no comeback?"

" _What? I..._ " they hesitated then said reluctantly, " _my heart just isn't in this one._ "

"there you go," He grinned. "now let me take a look at this frankenstein of yours."

Frisk walked back to the bed with him, a few steps behind, clinging onto the metal frame once they reached the bed.

Sans picked up the soul container and turned it round and round in his hand, studying the drooping soul. "i'll help you, on one condition."

"What?" Frisk asked anxiously.

"let me study this." he nodded to the soul, "nothing like this has ever been done before. it will probably only take a couple hours once i hook it up to the machines."

"Ok." Frisk said, hope rising in their chest.

"oh, and no resets. if i'm gonna spend my time studying this thing i want to keep that data." he smiled a smile that had no humor in it, "i've done enough treading water for one lifetime."

Frisk opened their mouth to say ok again but stopped, and instead held out their hand, one pinky raised, "Pinky promise."

Sans snorted and shook his head, "the unbreakable bond." He hooked his pinky with theirs, "pinky promise."

"Thank you for helping me..." Frisk said in a tiny voice.

He nodded and sat the container down, rummaging around in his pocket and pulling out a phone, their phone. He held it out to them, "here. don't leave this behind again, alright?"

Frisk nodded and took the phone.

"now, you need to call pap and asgore," he looked at them very pointedly, doing his best to sound like a responsible adult, "you've been gone for a day. i told pap you stayed over with asgore and i told asgore you'll visit him as soon as you finish recalibrating puzzles with my bro. got it?"

Frisk squeezed their phone, "A whole day?"

"yeah. now do you got all that info or do i need to tell you again?"

"I got it." Frisk said.

" _You lied for us?_ "

Sans raised a brow, "was i supposed to tell them the truth?"

"... _I suppose not._ " Chara conceded.

"call them, tell them you'll see 'em soon so they don't worry."

Frisk nodded.

Sans patted the bed, "then you might as well take nap while i'm busy. let me tell you, if i could trade places with you." he shook his head wistfully.

Frisk rounded the bed and sat on the edge.

"-FfffthPbbbbtttPbbbtffththhhhh..."

Frisk looked down and tugged out the rubber woopee cushion from under their leg.

Sans chuckled.

Before Frisk could stop them, Chara flicked it at his face. It landed on his forehead like a floppy plastic beret, " _You're hilarrriiious_."

"who me?" he grinned. He mimed a tip of the hat with his woopee cushion, picked up the soul container and went deeper into the lab.

Frisk did as he said and called Pap and Asgore, before crawling back into the stiff musty sheets.

Sans nudged them awake a few hours later. His eyes had taken on a deeper shadow of exhaustion. "you call pap and asgore?" he asked.

Frisk nodded, rubbing their eyes free of sleep. Their body felt strangely achy, like they had run a marathon.

"i finished with the tests and you did what you set out to do, it's a hollow husk, barely held together by a few fragments of soul power. amazing it didn't shatter." Sans sighed, shaking his head. He sat the soul container on the floor and sat on the bed next to them.

They both stared down at the little soul, nearly white, bobbing near the bottom of the container sideways like a sick fish.

"i can see what you're trying to do..." he said, his voice trailing off, "i mean, it'll probably work better than your last plan but..." he tisked.

" _It's still a long shot._ " Chara said grimly.

"it's an empty human soul for a soulless monster. it's just..." he leaned back on the mattress and looked up at the ceiling, "you know how babies are made, kid?"

Frisk giggled.

" _Really?_ "

San rolled his eyes, "not human babies, monster babies."

Frisk shook their head and leaned forward with interest.

"well. when two monster love each other very much-"

Chara snickered.

Sans gave them a look and continued, "they summon up their souls and combine a grain from each of their souls, a seed sorta. that seed will stay with one of the monsters and it will grow slowly from their parents magic, the amount of magic the parents has dictates how long it will take for the kid to be born, anywhere from a couple months to years. but that isn't the most important part," he slid back further until he was laying down, chisp wrappers crinkling underneath him, "the important part is the hope, love and compassion the parents have for each other and their child, if there isn't enough of that, the soul will crumble." He pointed at the soul container with the toe of his slipper, "this soul is like that but held together by human stubbornness, a soul without love, hope or compassion."

Frisk stared at the soul.

"...i suppose he might be able to pick up a little love and hope and whatnot as he goes on, but that soul won't be much better than the nothin he's got now."

They leaned down and picked up the container, moving it carefully so the soul wouldn't be jostled into the side. Frisk pressed their hand to the cool glass and the soul drifted over and gently rest against it.

"Hey Sans?" Frisk asked.

He managed a grunt of acknowledgement.

"Since the soul is empty, could we put love and hope into it?"

He sat up.

"The same way monsters do to make a baby?"

Sans looked at them. "...maybe." He sighed, his shoulders slumping with resignation.

"Will you try?" they asked.

"this sort of thing," He scratched his cheek awkwardly, "it's real personal..."

"Please?" Frisk looked at him pleadingly.

His cheeks took on the faintest tinge of blue magic.

" _Are you blushing?!_ " Chara cackled with glee, " _What's the matter princess? Shy?_ " they teased.

Sans masked his cheeks with one hand, "shut it, brat."

Frisk groaned internally, We need his help!

" _He can handle it._ "

"Sorry." Frisk said anxiously.

Sans waved the apology away. "s'embaressing is all," he muttered. His head was turned away from them but Frisk thought they could still make out a hint of blue.

He let out a hiss of air between his teeth, "i'd need a way to interface with the soul. i'll need to get close and getting that close i'd probably absorb the soul whether i wanted too or not. the soul seems to be very... sticky. it wants to be absorbed, probably to stabilize itself."

Frisk tipped the soul container in their lap and clicked it open. They wrapped the soul in a fine web of determination and gently lifted it out, "Will this work?"

Sans stared, "is this how you drained it?"

"Yeah, but with a lot more determination, so it couldn't escape."

"you're a monster you know that? in the classical sense of the word. monster not Monster."

Chara bristled, " _Don't call them that,_ " they hissed.

"It's ok, Chara." Frisk said softly, "I know."

" _But you're Not- you're not..._ "

Frisk eyes ached with tears, "I try to be good," they smiled, "but I've done bad things. It's ok."

Sans looked from them to the soul. "we all got a dark side, kid, two sides of a coin. just because you're a monster doesn't mean i ain't." His soul shone out of his chest a little beacon of white light, "now..." He put his hands around the empty soul and closed his eyes. Frisk felt the soul pulse and grow warmer inside their determination.

Sans smiled to himself. After a minute of tense silence he pulled his hands back and opened his eyes, "well, that's probably all i've got in me," he sat back, looking more tired than before. "not a lot of hope or compassion but i love my bro more than anything in the world so i put as much as I was willing to share in."

Frisk put the soul back into the container, their hands trembling so badly they almost couldn't seal it, "th-thank you." their voice was small and edged with tears.

"no big deal," Sans shrugged.

"It is though," Frisk whispered, "You know what I am and what I've done, you hate Flowey but you still- you still helped me." They wrapped their arms around the soul container and hugged it tight, tears leaked from their eyes and dripped down their nose.

"we made a deal didn't we?" he raised a hand and wiggled his pinky finger.

"...But you didn't have to, you hate me."

"hate you?" Sans furrowed his brow, "nah kid, i like you, i've said it before. i didn't trust you for a while, i honestly thought your little friend was behind all the resets and that led to me making some bad decisions," he grimaced, "but i learned more about you and them and i think you both probably have good intentions..." his voice drifted off and he stared into the distance for a moment before continuing, "...i've seen what too much power can do in the wrong hands. and you have a dangerous amount of power. but, so long as you keep your promise." he shrugged, "after all we've been through, i figure i owe it to ya to be honest."

Frisk nodded.

"you're not the only one whose done bad things, most of the underground's tried to kill you at least once. you don't have to be a little ball of pure goodness, nobody can be that good. well, cept pap."

" _And he's special._ "

"one of a kind." Sans glowed with pride. He slid off the bed and stretched, "you comin' or what?"

"Where are we going?" Frisk asked as the obediently jumped off the bed still tightly clutching the soul container.

"to fill up that soul, you're gonna need all the love and hope in the underground so we better get moving."

Frisk's face lit up and they hurried after him.

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(next update: tomorrow)


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Alphys was in the lab upstairs and was the first after Sans to put a little bit of hope and love in the soul. Sans told her, and every monster they met, that the soul was artificial, an experiment to help a monster who was very very sick and very dear to Frisk. Once they knew it was for Frisk's sake every monster them met agreed to help and give the soul a little bit of hope, love and compassion. With every monster, the soul grew stronger, a warm pulse built up in it like a beating heart. They walked through hotland and mtt, the core and the New Home and spoke with every monster they could find.

Sans counseled against talking to Asgore but Frisk was insistent that Asriel's new soul should have his parents love and hope in it. Once they arrived Asgore, of course, insisted they have a cup of tea as well.

"An artificial soul, golly." Asgore turned the soul container in his hands, "I didn't know you have any interest in science Sans."

Sans' smile seemed painted on, "i dabbled as a kid."

"But think of what we could do with technology like this! We might be able to engineer souls to allow us to break the barrier."

Frisk sipped at their tea, glancing nervously from Sans to Asgore.

"nah, sorry boss," Sans gave a flippant wave, "but that's one of a kind, used all the stuff to make it sort of thing. and it could never have the power of a human soul."

"Oh..." his eyes shadowed, "I see."

"Thank you for the tea." Frisk said softly into their cup.

Asgore perked up and put on a bright smile, "Of course! I am so pleased you could take time to visit whilst on this important mission. You will have to introduce me to this friend of yours you are going to such lengths to save."

Frisk felt their cheeks get hot. They hid behind their teacup and nodded.

"Now, what did you need me to do?" Asgore asked.

"the kid'll guide you." Sans said lazily leaning back in his chair and eating another tea cookie.

Frisk jumped down from their chair and walked around the table to Asgore, taking the soul container from him and opening it. The soul was a lot more stable now, still floating sideways but less like it was sick and more like it was meant to be that way, pulled halfway between the nature of a human and monster soul.

Frisk wrapped the soul in determination and lifted it out, "if you could put in some hope, love and compassion like you do when-" they faltered at the expression on Asgore's face but pressed on doggedly, "like when you make a baby soul..."

Tears glimmered in Asgore's eyes, disappearing into his fur when he blinked, "I shall do my best." he said, his voice rough with emotion.

He summoned up his soul and fanned his hands around the little white soul. It took a few minutes, he cried while doing it, great silent tears that made Frisk and Chara's heart ache.

"I apologize," Asgore said as he sat back, "This... brought back a great deal of memories of..." he cleared his throat.

" _Of Azzy._ " Chara said softly.

Asgore nodded and smiled, "I must be such a sight!" He dried his eyes on his sleeve and turned back to the table, "Would you like some more tea before you go?"

Frisk had another cup of tea and managed to snag the last tea cookie. They said goodbyes and Sans teleported them back to the start of Waterfall and they walked through the area asking everyone they came across to help them fill the soul.

Napstablook was at their family snail farm. When Frisk asked for their help they very profusely apologized and asked to be excused, fading through the ceiling even as they declined. Undyne wasn't at home but they found her on patrol and she enthusiastically agreed to help, stuffing the soul full of hope.

Once they reached Snowdin news spread fast about what Frisk was doing and soon there was a line of monsters volunteering to help out. Once they had all the hope and love Snowdin had to spare they went home and met up with Papyrus for his lunch break. He made them all spaghetti.

Papyrus gathered up their plates and took them to the kitchen after they finished.

Frisk took the opportunity to ask Sans, "Can I ask Pap for some love too?"

He was leaning back in his chair, he slowly opened one eye to look across the table at them, "heh. you're asking me for permission?"

Frisk nodded, looking down at their hands, " 'Cause Flowey has, um...done bad things so, I mean, you might not want him to..."

"hmm..." Sans closed his eye, the chair creaked as he shifted his weight.

Frisk fiddled with the edge of their shirt anxiously.

"well..." Sans said reluctantly, "suppose i'll leave it up to him."

"LEAVE WHAT UP TO ME?" Papyrus asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, tugging off his rubber dishwashing gloves and pulling on his red gloves.

Frisk glanced at Sans again.

He shrugged.

Frisk said, "Um, I was wondering if you- I mean, me 'n Chara are making a new soul for Flowey 'cause he doesn't have one."

"NO SOUL! THAT'S TERRIBLE! NO WONDER HE WAS SO STRANGE LAST TIME WE MET!" Papyrus' titled his head slightly, "I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD JUST MAKE A NEW SOUL."

Frisk blinked.

 _That's... very astute._

Sans said, "science."

"OH! I SEE!" Papyrus thumped his fist into his open hand. "...WELL, I DON'T. BUT THAT'S OK! NERDY SCIENCE STUFF IS NOT A PAPYRUS SPECIALTY! IT'S MORE OF A SANS...THING. SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT HE WOULD BE HELPING YOU!"

"i'm a helpful sort of guy."

Papyrus narrowed his eyes, "...YES. SELECTIVLY SO."

Chara said, " _Anyway. We're collecting love and hope and compassion from monsters to put in the new soul and we were wondering if you would want to add some?_ "

Papyrus lit up, "YES! THE GREAT HERO PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER LEAVE A FRIEND IN NEED!"

He followed Frisk to the couch where they had left their backpack and sat down of the edge of the couch as they pulled the soul container out.

Frisk opened the soul container and snagged the soul in a net of determination. They had to use more and more determination each time, the soul was getting stronger and gravitated to the closest person as soon as it was free. It even tried to stick to Frisk now.

"OK! SO! ...HOW DO I DO THIS?" Papyrus asked, his leg jiggling with nervousness.

Sans chuckled and slid off his chair and walked over to them.

"DON'T LAUGH!"

"don't worry about it, bro. i'll tell you how to do it. once you get started it should be pretty easy. it's like an instinct." Sans sat next to him, "first summon your soul. now, kinda put your hands around the soul but without touching it." he guided Papyrus' hands, keeping them from touching Frisk's determination.

Papyrus focused with a childlike intensity.

Sans continued, "wrap a little magic around your hands, it acts as a conduit."

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!" Papyrus said anxiously.

"it's alright, you don't have to," Sans grinned. "just focus on the magic in you hands and remember all the best stuff in your life. it feels a little weird at first but then it should just start to flow."

"SHOULD I THINK OF THINGS I DID WITH FLOWEY?"

Sans shrugged, "couldn't hurt."

Papyrus stared at his hands, sweat beaded on his brow, his hands took on the faint blue glow of his magic.

Sans encouraged him, "you got this, bro."

"IS IT WORKING?!" Papyrus asked anxiously.

"Yeah! You're doing it!" Frisk said, they could feel the soul growing stronger in their mesh, the pulse of power getting heavier and warmer.

Sans warned, "not too much."

Frisk watched the soul. Sans watched Papyrus.

After a few minutes Sans said, "kid..."

Frisk nodded and pulled the soul away from Papyrus, putting it back in the container and locking it up.

Papyrus blinked and dropped his hands, wiping the sweat off his brow, "I COULD'VE DONE MORE!" he protested.

"you did enough."

"BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHOULD-"

" _Thank you_ ," Chara said. Frisk nodded, "Thanks a lot, Pap."

"OF COURSE, I AM HAPPY I COULD HELP THIS TIME!" Papyrus said brightly.

"i'm just glad we're done." Sans slumped back into the couch cushions.

" _...well..._ "

Sans groaned.

Frisk asked, "Who else do you- oh. Do you want to-?"

Chara nodded, " _Her._ "

"We might not even be able to talk to her though." Frisk put the soul container back in to their bag.

Chara pulled the backpack on and bounced slightly to get it higher on their shoulders, " _But I think we should try. I think it's important._ "

Sans groaned again for emphasis.

"SINCE SANS IS BEING SANS, I SHALL ACCOMPANY YOU!" Papyrus volunteered.

Sans gave a thumbs up, sliding further down on the couch, "good plan."

"OF COURSE IT IS, I THOUGHT OF IT!"

"...Um..." Frisk said reluctantly.

Sans put his hand over his eyes.

" _We just need to talk to one more monster..._ " Chara hesitated, " _...Your friend in the ruins._ "

He parted his fingers and looked between the gap, "know about her, huh?"

They nodded.

"take it that means you know her too."

They nodded again.

Sans slid down the couch, waggling his legs until they found floor and slowly drooped himself into something that resembled a standing position.

Frisk watched in fascination. Papyrus watched with the expression of someone who has seen this before and is still unimpressed.

He slowly straightened, "...guess this is on me, bro."

"I SHOULD GET BACK TO MY POST ANYWAY," Papyrus said with a shrug. He walked over to Sans and gave the smaller skeleton a hug, "THANK YOU FOR HELPING FRISK AND CHARA, SANS."

"what?" Sans blustered, "what's this? geez."

Papyrus smiled and patted him on the head. "LUNCH IS OVER, I HAVE TO ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES!"

Sans smiled, "you got it, pap. we'll be back before you know it."

They walked Papyrus out the door and waved goodbye. Sans put his hand on Frisk's shoulder and pushed them forward, in one step they were in front of this Ruin's sentry station.

Sans pivoted on his heel and headed up the trail towards the Ruin's door, "welp, let's get this over with. i'm gonna need to sleep for a week."

Frisk ran to keep up.

The trees pressed in and the light dimmed. The snow deepened and there were fewer tracks.

"I'm sorry." Frisk said softly.

Sans' brows rose and he glanced over at them, "what for?"

" 'Cause you're tired."

"i'm always tired." Sans said with a smile, "don't worry about it."

Frisk kicked at the snow around their feet, "...I hope you don't have to be someday."

"you and me both."

The trees parted and stone rose up in front of the them, the heavy stone door at the center of the rough stone wall.

Sans trudged up to the door and pulled a hand out of his pocket. "Knock, knock," he knocked on the door, pausing for a breath, "Wanda...Wanda who?" he grinned to himself, "Wanda hang out?" he chuckled.

Around them the trees creaked above their heads.

Sans raised his hand to knock again.

"...It is really you?" Toriel's voice trembled, faint as a breeze.

"heh." Sans smiled, "yeah, it's me. sorry it's been a while, things have been crazy."

A soft shhf sound carried through the door, a hand sliding across stone, "H-Have you...? The poor child..."

"the little troublemaker? you shoulda warned me."

"Oh thank goodness!" Toriel said in pure relief, "Are they doing well? Are they safe?"

"well..."Sans shrugged in his jacket and leaned against the doorframe, nodding to Frisk.

"Please tell me they are well. I have been so worried..." She sniffed.

Frisk froze.

"come on, kid." Sans said softly.

"I should have gone after them," she whispered.

"I-" Frisk cleared their throat and tried again, raising their wavering voice, "I-I'm ok! I'm here! I've been staying with Sans and Papyrus in Snowdin."

"...My child, is it truly you?" Toriel asked.

"Uhuh" Frisk said, "I'm sorry I left without telling you. I thought... I hoped it would be less hurtful."

There was a long pause, "Was I a bad mother to you? Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Frisk said softly, leaning their forehead against the cold stone.

"We could've been a family. I would've taken care of you, protected you I- I-" her voice broke, "I do not understand why you had to leave..."

Frisk opened their mouth but had no answer. They could not tell her the truth and without that... Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, trying not to cry, pulling the straps of their backpack tight against themselves.

"they're stubborn," Sans said, "pigheaded, inflexible, bloody-minded-"

" _Sans!_ " Chara protested.

"-and just plain difficult. they've befriended every monster they've met, helped out me n' my brother, won over that rock-headed captain of the guard, helped out the royal scientist and became the new star of the underground." Sans sighed, "couldn't have done any of that if they had stayed."

"I had a lot to do." Frisk said trying to sound more sure of themselves than they were, "There was so much I couldn't do if I stayed in the Ruins."

"Do you intend to leave the Underground?" Toriel asked quietly.

Frisk shook their head, "No."

The Ruin's door opened, stone grating on stone. Toriel step out, engulfing them in a hug so tight their ribs ached. "Thank goodness... oh thank goodness." she said into their hair before relaxing her grip, holding onto their arms as she looked them over from head to toe. She blinked at the sight of their shirt, her expression briefly twisting with pain, "This shirt... where did you get it?"

"I only had one outfit," Frisk said feeling nervous, " so, A-Asgore let me have a box of clothes."

Her grip on their arms tightened and her expression darkened, "Did he hurt you? Did he try to-" her voice faltered. "...He better not have laid a hand on you."

Frisk's voice came out tiny, "He was nice. We had tea together."

"Hmph," She said cooly. "Why don't we get out of the cold," Her grip slid down, taking their hand as she stood and pulling them after her inside the door. "My friend, you are also welcome," she called after Sans with a fond smile on her face.

Sans slipped through the gap and Toriel pulled the door shut and barred it behind them.

Toriel said, "It is so nice to finally meet you face to face, so to speak."

"hey." Sans smiled.

"I am Toriel."

"the name's sans." Sans said, stuffing his hand back in his pockets, "and, uh, same. nice to meet you in the _flesh._ "

Toriel's eyes crinkled as she laughed, "It is very _goat_ to see you as well."

Sans grinned, "good one."

"Shall we go upstairs?" Toriel suggested.

Sans shrugged, "sure."

Frisk nodded.

They all followed her through the long stone corridor and up the stairs.

As soon as they entered the house Toriel began to fret, "This place is such a mess. Please make yourselves at home I'll just tidy up," She hurried into the living room ahead of them.

Frisk and Sans followed a few steps behind. Toriel rushed around the austere living room, dusting non-existent dust, tidying the tidy bookshelf, lighting a fire and disappearing into the kitchen to continue her cleaning spree.

Frisk followed on her heel, clinging to the kitchen doorframe, "...Toriel?"

"Yes, my child?" Toriel said over her shoulder, elbows deep in the sink, washing her lunch dishes.

"...I need your help with something."

"Hmm? And what is that?" she asked.

Frisk gripped the strap of their backpack, "...There's a monster I met and something happened to him and he lost his soul but he's still alive and-"

Toriel chuckled, "I do not know what this monster told you but he could not possibly be alive without a soul."

"nah, the kid knows what they're talking about." Sans voice drifted in from the living room.

Frisk turned.

Sans leaned against the fireplace, staring down at the flickering flames, "it was a lab accident. the kid got a big dose of determination, that'll keep a monster alive even if they've fallen down. it's stronger than despair or death."

Toriel hands went still, soap dripping down her hands, "That is horrible, who in the world would do such a thing?"

Sans said, "she didn't know it what it would do when she injected it."

"That seems highly irresponsible-"

"Mum," Frisk interrupted with gentle insistence, "He doesn't have a soul and he can't feel anything. So we made him a new soul but it needs love, hope and compassion. We've asked everybody I could think of but we wanted to ask you too, if you'd help..."

Toriel dried the plate, a thoughtful look on her face, "He can not feel..." her expression darkened and she pressed a hand to her chest, "...such a familiar feeling."

Frisk said softly, "It would mean a lot to us if you would help..."

"Would you and Sans like some pie?" Toriel asked with a smile.

Frisk searched her face.

Toriel quickly put away the clean dishes and took out two plates and forks and took a pie out of the refrigerator, butterscotch and cinnamon, whole and uncut. She carried it all out to the table and carefully cut a slice and placed it on a plate, setting it in front of the small chair. "Would you like a slice of pie, Sans?"

"sure." Sans said stepping away from the fireplace and shuffling over to the table.

Toriel pulled out a chair and sat a slice of pie in front of him.

Frisk sat on the edge of the chair. They picked up the fork and cut off a small slice and stared at it. Eventually, Chara took over and ate the pie, savoring each bite.

"so this is what it's supposed to taste like." Sans said.

Toriel sat in the chair next to him, "Did you try the recipe I gave you?"

"tried being the operative word." he joked, "turns out i can't bake to save my skin."

She chuckled, "Perhaps, we could try again together. I am certain you can get the hang of it."

Frisk tried again, "Mum-"

"Are you finished? I will take your plate." She scooped up their plate and pie and went back to the kitchen.

"not going how you thought it would?" San asked, wiggling the fork absently.

Frisk shrugged.

" _I wasn't sure she'd even be at the door so we're doing better than I thought we would._ " Chara said quietly so their voice wouldn't carry.

Sans ate another forkful of pie.

" _Hey, Sans?_ " Chara asked, " _Do you think a human could put love and hope in the soul too? Like... could I-?_ "

" s'possible i guess..." San propped his elbow on the table and leaned his head on it, closing his eyes, "you'd probably be able to put some new furniture in."

Chara's brow furrowed, " _furniture?_ "

"memories." he opened his eyes briefly to locate the crust and picked it up, eating it in small thoughtful bites, crumbs cascading down the front of his jacket. "put new ones in like you took the old ones out."

Chara pulled the backpack around and wrapped their arms around it, looking down at it thoughtfully.

Toriel hurried back into the room and took Sans dish then returned to the kitchen. Sans shifted position slightly, tucking his head into his arms and dozing off.

Frisk walked back to the fireplace and sat down in front of the warm magic flames, pulling out the soul container. They opened it and pulled the soul out with a net of determination. The little white heart pressed against the red barrier, straining towards them. It didn't resist as they pressed their determination tight to its surface.

"Magic as a conduit," Frisk said softly to themselves. "...Now, Chara you gotta press tight to me, 'n pass your memories through me to the soul."

 _Are you sure? I mean, are you ok with seeing everything?_

Frisk set their mouth into a thin line and nodded firmly.

Behind them Toriel moved from the kitchen down the hall, dust cloth in hand. The door to Asriel's old room opened and they could hear her humming faintly as she cleaned.

Chara pressed their consciousness tight to Frisks and began remembering, every moment they could, from when they first fell onwards. Frisk stared at the soul, when they blinked they saw another time and place, stood in Chara's shoes, laughed and played with Asriel, call the Underground their home.

"My goodness, that took longer than I thought it would." Toriel said.

Frisk started out of the world of Chara's memories and looked over their shoulder.

Toriel sighed and rubbed her temples, slumping into the chair beside them.

They swivel around to her chair and held up the soul hopefully.

"Oh." She covered her mouth with her hand.

Frisk said, "Please."

She leaned forward, one hand almost reaching out the soul and dropping to her lap.

"We need your help, we need a mothers love."

Toriel put on her best smile, her eyes crinkling tiredly, "Surely, there are other mothers."

They lowered the soul, "You don't want to."

"It is... my child, it is difficult for me..." she said wearily. "I have... lost so many children."

Frisk nodded, "...I understand." They turned back to the container and eased the soul inside.

"...Wait," Toriel's voice choked off. She looked away, pressed her hand to her mouth. "...Bring it here," she held out her hands.

Frisk knelt in front of her and rested their hands on her knees, the soul floating just above.

Her hands curled around the soul, taking on a shimmer of red from her magic. Her expression was grim, her eyes shadowed.

Frisk felt the soul tremble as power trickled into it. There was no flood, no pulse of warmth or power. She hardly had begun when she pulled her hands away, turning away to hide the tears pooling in her eyes.

Frisk put the soul away and resealed the container, "...thank you." they said softly.

"Of course." Toriel sniffed and smiled briefly.

"knock knock." Sans rapped on the edge of the the table.

Toriel hesitated and then smiled, "Who is there?"

"ketchup."

She giggled and quickly wiped her eyes with one finger, "Ketchup who?"

"ketchup with me and i'll tell you." Sans swung his leg over the chair and leaned on the back, a big grin on his face.

"Ok, my turn!" Toriel said excitedly, "Knock knock."

"who's there?" Sans asked.

"Isabelle!"

"heh." Sans chuckled, "isabelle who?"

"Isabelle working, or should I keep knocking!" Toriel burst out.

Sans laughed.

Frisk slid the soul container back in their backpack and put it on, "I'm gonna go outside."

"Don't go too far into the Ruin's they can be dangerous." Toriel warned.

Frisk twisted the doorknob, "I just wanna see the tree."

Toriel nodded, "Just be careful, my child."

Frisk smiled, "My name is Frisk." and stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind them.

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(a/n: next update: tomorrow.)


	44. Chapter 44

(a/n: so... this is it, the end. But, strictly speaking it's not over. I have 5-6 short epilogue chapters planned. I won't be able to begin working on them until next week so look for them after 7/19. I hope you all like it!)

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Chapter 44

 _Where is he?_ Chara asked.

Frisk looked up at the tree, it's branches bare and dark. Beneath their feet, brilliant red leaves crinkled as they dragged one foot back and forth until dark sand was exposed. "He's...in Waterfall. I think he moved there as soon as we came back to the Ruins."

 _Are you ready?_

They pressed a hand over their heart, already pounding with anxiety, "I guess."

 _We don't have to go until you're ready... he... he might want to fight again._ Chara said nervously.

Frisk nodded, "Can... can you talk to him this time?" they asked softly, "I just messed it up last time."

... _I'll try_

Toriel asked as she came down the steps "Who were you speaking to, my child? A new friend?" She glanced around, "Perhaps your ghost friend?"

"An old friend." Frisk said, "They live in my soul."

"Really." She said with pleasant interest, kneeling down in front of them. "What is their name?"

Frisk paused.

 _You can tell her...we're going to have to anyway._

"Their name is Chara."

She froze still as a stone, "Th-that's a nice name," she managed weakly.

"May I have a hug?" Frisk asked.

She unfroze and smiled, "Of course you may." She opened her arms and Frisk looped their arms around her neck. She was so warm. The fur on her arms was soft and she smelled like sweet cinnamon. It brought up so many bitter-sweet memories from before the reset, a life they had lost. She squeezed them then let go and sat back, smoothing and straightening their hair, "I am so glad you have decided to stay in the Underground." Her smile faltered slightly then came back bright, "Of course you may stay here with me in the Ruins. We can go to Snowdin whenever you like to visit your friends. There's no need to lock ourselves away. I understand that now. I'll see to it that Asgore never lays his hand on you, I swear it."

Frisk frowned, "Pop-pop's very nice. He help take care of me when I got sick and then went to the bathhouse with everyone. I promised I'd visit."

"Asgore-?" She shook her head, "He can't be trusted, my child, he has... done terrible things. You shouldn't see him again. It's not safe."

They stepped back slightly, pulling free of her hands. "Also, I'm gonna live with Pap and Sans. I still wanna visit and see you I just... I just wanna live with Pap."

"I'm certain they are lovely boys but they are too young and inexperienced to be raising a child-"

"come on tori, give my bro a chance," Sans said, "he's done a good job so far."

They both turned to Sans, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall like he hadn't just appeared there a few seconds ago.

Frisk ran over to him, "Sans!"

"hey, kid." he grinned.

"Can you teleport me to Waterfall?" Frisk asked.

"yeah. that were he is?" he asked.

They nodded.

Toriel hurried to her feet, "You're leaving? You have just come back! I was going to make dinner."

"Knock knock." Frisk said.

"This isn't the time-"

"Please." Frisk said softly.

Toriel crossed her arms, "Very well, who is there?"

Frisk said, "Olive."

"Olive who?"

"Olive you," Frisk said a little shyly.

Toriel relaxed and smiled.

"I'll come back, I won't abandon you, mum." Frisk smiled, "Everything's gonna be ok. I just have to save someone first."

Toriel stiffened and hurried over to them, "Wait-!"

Sans grabbed their arm as he leaned forward and stepped through the world like a gap in the curtain, coming out in front of the little Waterfall community consisting of Undyne and Napstablook.

Frisk looked at the glittering walls, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Chara pressed a hand over their locket.

"where you headed?" Sans asked.

Frisk closed their eyes and pivoted on their heel until they zeroed in on Flowey's magic, "There." they pointed, "near the statue."

 _Figures._

"you want help?" he asked.

Chara raised an eyebrow, " _Now you ask? What about last time?_ "

He shrugged, "last time wasn't gonna work whether i helped or not."

Chara rubbed their eyes in frustration, " _You are such a lazy sack of bones!_ "

"what? i've got a good feeling about this time." he grinned.

Frisk smiled back, "Me too."

"so? you want me to tag along or-?"

"What do you think, Chara?" Frisk asked.

Chara sighed and crossed their arms, " _If you could be within yelling distance in case everything ends up fucked again that would be great._ "

Sans raised a brow, "i thought you didn't swear in front of the kids?"

Chara shrugged, " _Pap sure. Frisk has seen some shit. They don't need babying._ " they sighed, " _unfortunately, they like babying_."

"SO?" Frisk said defensively.

" _SO, we share a body and if you get babied I also have to endure it too. Duh._ "

Frisk giggled.

" _Let's go._ "

Frisk nodded and focused on the area where the music box statue was. "Ok." They pushed against the world with determination and the world moved. They skidded on the damp ground. The music box wasn't playing. When Frisk turned they saw that someone had pulled the statue over onto its side. Mud was churned up all around the base, one of the horns had been snapped off, the stone was scuffed as if it had been wrapped in ropes. The pink umbrella Frisk had carefully put over the statue's head to keep off the rain had been torn into ribbons and thrown to the side. The soft plinks of water dripping down from the cavern roof were the only noise in the empty hallway.

Frisk could feel Flowey, deep under the ground.

"What do you want to do?" Frisk asked softly.

Chara stared at the statue, " _Do you think we could try putting more love in the soul?_ "

"Just wait?"

Chara nodded, " _He'll come up when he gets bored._ "

"Ok." Frisk pulled the backpack off, taking the soul container out and dropping their bag on the ground so they could sit on it and keep from getting too wet. They opened the soul container and encircled the soul in determination so Chara could focus their memories on the small heart.

It was hard to say how much time passed before they heard the ground shift and a little golden flower head peeked out of the mud. Frisk didn't bother looking at him, focusing on their determination while Chara worked.

"What are you doing?" Flowey's voice was small but furious. "Take your stupid soul and leave! I don't want it!"

Chara didn't answer.

"Why won't you just get away from me!" he snapped his leaves hitting the mud with all the fury he could muster, "Just, get away from me! Do you hear me!? I'll tear you apart!" A few thorn covered vines rose in the air behind him along with a cloud of magic bullets.

" _...Do you know why I'm doing this...?_ " Chara asked quietly.

Flowey's vines went rigid.

" _I'm doing this..._ "

Frisk pulled their determination back and resealed the soul container.

Chara looked up, "... _because I care about you, dummy._ "

"No!" Flowey snapped, "NO! I don't need ANYONE!"

" _You used to care about me too, once._ "

"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Flowey yelled, flinging his magic at them.

Frisk tried to flinch out of the way, raising their arms as if they could stop the magic that passed right through them. They hissed in pain as three of the pellets managed to hit their soul. The rest of the pellets cracked into the stone wall behind them and dissipated, leaving only an acrid smell.

Flowey's vines slithered through the mud towards them as more bullets formed in a ring around Floweys head.

Chara threw the soul container at Flowey.

Flowey ducked and the container passed harmless overhead, bouncing off the statue and splattering down in the mud. He sneered."What was that supposed to do? You idiot-"

" _SHUT UP_." Chara snapped, " _I'm so tired of your stupid-!_ " They snarled in frustration, pressing their hands to the ground and gripping the mud with both hands to keep themselves from pulling the stick out, " _Everything before was my fault but everything RIGHT NOW is YOUR FAULT! YOURS! Not mine! Stupid goat! Dumbass flower!-_ "

The vines that had been moving towards them stopped and twitched back with every shout.

" _Spoiled little BRAT!-_ "

"Am not-!" Flowey shot back weakly.

Chara grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at him.

Flowey vines twitched up instinctively and were coated in mud.

" _Why do I keep fighting to keep you around!? You're the worst! Why do you always do this!_ " Chara threw another handful of mud.

It hit the ground in front of Flowey and splattered dirty water across his petals. "...no! I-!"

" _Why don't you just start crying then?! That's what you always did before!_ " Chara yelled, slapping the ground with their open hand, water splashing up, " _Sad, cry! Angry, cry! Didn't get your way, cry! Cry for me! Cry for yourself! Always crying! Stupid crybaby!_ "

 _"_ I didn't-!"

Chara cut him off with a mocking singsong voice, " _Oh but Chara~ Chara with the creepy smile~ Chara who just laughed it off~ Chara's ok~ Chara doesn't need to be comforted~ Chara's so grown up~_ " They curled their fingers through the mud, " _FUCK YOU,_ " They glared at him.

Flowey jerked back, his petals drooping around his face.

Chara shuddered, eyes swimming with unshed tears," _I had to be brave and pretend to be ok because of you! I had to be there for you, because I FUCKING LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!_ " They roughly wiped their nose with the back to their hand, blinking back furious tears, " _but NO ONE was ever there for me! NO ONE asked me if I was ok! So I did it by MYSELF. I made the worst, stupidest, idiotic plan in the history of the fucking world because I thought I had to, for YOU and Toriel and Asgore and the WHOLE UNDERGROUND! And THEN-_ " They gripped the thick muck, " _The only GOD DAMN thing I ever ask you for and you can't even do the one FUCKING THING I ask-! You're such a fucking COWARD! Even when you had the timeline of the whole fucking underground you couldn't fucking commit- FUCK!_ " Tears streamed down their face, and Chara rubbed them off their their damp sleeves, " _I hate crying._ "

Flowey stared up at them, his eyes big.

" _Fuck._ " Chara sniffed. They reached up and fumbled out the locket. They tried to pull it over their head, got frustrated and snapped the chain with one firm jerk, throwing it at Flowey, " _It's yours anyway. I don't want it. I don't want you._ "

Flowey looked down at the locket half buried in mud in shock. He swallowed hard.

" _... I hate you too,"_ Chara said wearily, rising to their knees, " _Let's go, Frisk._ "

"WAIT-! JUST-! FINE!" Flowey snapped, trying to look fierce with his petals wilted and covered in mud, "I'll try this time! I'll try to use it properly!" He wrapped his vines around the soul container and pulled it to himself, "Then you'll see a-and we can just hate each other a-and," As soon as he opened the container the soul it drifted towards him as if pulled and sank into his thin stem like a snowflake on the skin.

They slowly sat back down. Chara stared through Flowey, their shoulders drooping in exhaustion.

"Nothing...nothing happened" He said sullenly, "I told you you were- were..." his face twitched, "were... an... idiot...?" he shivered, "...oh..." he looked down at his leaves and swallowed hard, "...I...ah..." His petals dropped around him and he began to tremble, "...oh no..." He looked at Chara, his eyes searching theirs frantically, "...are you really mad... at me?" he asked in a tiny voice. "...I...ch-chara..." tears slid from his eyes and disappeared amongst his petals. "...I dinna mean it..," his voice wobbled and he hiccuped, the tears turning to great wretched sobs, "i p-promise i dinna mean it!"

Chara turned away, "... _Don't care._ "

Flowey pulled the heart locket from the mud and hugged it tight to himself, "it hurts!" he sobbed, "chara, it hurts!"

" _Feelings hurt, fuckface._ " Chara muttered, keeping their eyes fixed on their muddy hands.

Tears streamed down his face, "I-I don't wanna be alone... I'm scared..."

Chara sighed, looked up. Flowey flinched as they reached out their hand. They brushed his petals gently.

Asriel dropped the locket and stretched his leaves up, trembling to try and reach them. Chara lowered their hand and he wrapped his small leaves around their fingers, grasping them as tightly as he could.

"I'm so sorry." Asriel said weakly, "I-I'm so sorry." His mouth trembled and he shuddered. Magic began to build around him, surround him in white light and his shape began to soften and then change. He grew, the small leaves wrapped around their fingers grew longer, and turned into little fingers, with tiny nubby black claws and pads on his fingertips. The light faded and left in its wake a small figure covered in white fur and gentle green eyes, quickly turning red from crying. He was smaller than he had been in his past life, shorter than even Frisk, with black marks on his cheeks like thorns. Aside from that he looked the same, the same except for a single golden flower on the side of his head, looking as if it had been tucked over his ear for decoration.

He looked down at his hands, tears pit-patting down into white fur, "I can feel everyone's love and hope," he pressed a hand over his new soul, "I can feel how much they care about you and each other and I can feel all the memories you put- you..." he sniffled and squeezed their hand, "...I...I understand if you can't forgive me, Chara... Frisk. I understand i-if you hate me." he tried to blink away his tears, "I acted so strange and horrible... I hurt you." The words caught in his throat, "I hurt so many people. Friends, f-family, bystanders... there's- there's no excuse for what I've done."

" _No excuse at all._ " Chara said flatly.

Asriel's head jerked up and he searched their face frantically.

Chara shook their head, " _I'll forgive you though, if you can forgive me too... I did get you killed._ "

"O-OF COURSE!" Asriel sputtered, "Iforgiveyouonehundredmillionpercent!"

" _What about you, Frisk?_ "

Asriel pressed his mouth tight with anxiety.

"..." Frisk studied him. "I want you to make it up to everybody. For all the stuff you've done, you owe the underground a lot."

"I will! I promise!"

"Pap especially."

Asriel nodded, guilt darkening his eyes.

" _That's the Underground, Frisk, what about you?_ "

Frisk let go of Asriel's hand and looked around, they shifted over slightly, scooped up as much mud as their hands could hold and threw it across Asriel. He gasped as mud spattered across his face and chest. "Wha-"

Frisk grabbed another handful and carefully dropped it on Asriel's head with a stoic plop-plop. It ran down the back of his neck and he shuddered.

They smiled, "I feel better now."

Asriel stared at them in astonishment.

Frisk giggled.

A slow smile crept onto Asriel's face, "That's awful!" he laughed.

"No, Chara's aim is awful!" Frisk said grabbing more mud and lunging towards Asriel.

He caught their hand and tried to push it away giggling helplessly as Frisk smeared mud across his cheek.

"Noooo!" Asriel laughed, ducking away and scooping up mud in his hands, throwing it at Frisk.

Frisk turned their head, trying to bring up their arm but ended up with mud covering their hair.

They turned their head back slowly " _Oh, you're in for it now._ "

Asriel's eyes widened, "Chara, I didn't-"

Chara raised their arms and rose up on their knees, looming over Asriel and tackling him to the ground.

"EEP! CHARA!" Asriel laughed.

Chara laughed, " _Bring it on dandelion!_ "

Asriel grabbed two handfuls of mud and smooshed them to Chara's cheeks. "...Ooops, not the scary smile! Not the scary smile!" Asriel giggled and wiggled away.

Frisk hurled mud after Asriel as he crawled behind the statue. Frisk grabbed their backpack, using it as a shield to block mud attacks, throwing gobs of mud with their other hand. Frisk felt a surge of determination and grabbed hold of it, freezing time.

 _You sneaky shit!_ Chara crowed.

Frisk hurriedly scooped as much mud as they could to their body and ran behind the statue, letting time move again once they were behind him.

Asriel blinked and looked around in confusion, then he looked up, and back, "uh-oh-"

Frisk flung the mud all over him.

"Charaaaa!" Asriel groaned.

Chara snickered, " _That was Frisk, not me._ "

He glared at them, sniffling back tears, he raised his arm and four vines shot up from the ground and flung huge pats of mud at them.

Frisk stumbled as they hit and fell down on their butt. Mud ran down their face and was caked on their shirt. Frisk and Asriel stared at each other. A glob of mud plopped off Asriel's ear.

"...hee hee-" Frisk tried to cover their mouth and smeared more mud which only made them giggle harder.

Asriel pressed his mouth tight together, "...hhhn, hee, snrk, ha- ha Ha HaHa!"

Frisk's giggles burst into laughter, they wrapped their arms around their stomach. Asriel pressed his hands around his mouth. They leaned into one another as they laughed so hard it hurt.

Someone sighed behind them and they both turned around to see Sans staring down at them, completely unamused. "the bathhouse isn't free you know?"

Frisk managed to stop laughing long enough to say, "S-sorry Sans!"

He sighed again. "well, i suppose, i can just put it on his highness' tab this time," he smirked at Asriel.

"...ok..." Asriel squeaked meekly.

Sans leaned over the little goat monster until he was just inches away from him, "well, kid? where's my apology?"

Asriel cowered under Sans flat affect, "I-I'm sorry..." he burbled, tears pooling in his eyes and dripping down his cheeks, washing the mud away in narrow tracks, "I shouldn't have, there's no excuse for h-hurting-"

Sans eyes went black, "killing," he said flatly.

Asriel recoiled deeper into the mud, the petals on the flower on the side of his head drooped. "...m's-sorry, I- I don't know wh-what to say...m' really sorry. I-I'll do my best to make it up to you an-and Papyrus."

" _Isn't that enough, Sans?_ "

He shifted his head just slightly to look in their direction, "you have no idea the shit i've been through."

Frisk stood up and carefully pressed one hand onto of his head; leaving a perfect muddy handprint.

Sans raised a brow.

Frisk slowly grinned.

"brats, the lot of you," Sans shook his head. His expression relaxed and he grinned, "come on, lets get you cleaned up."

Frisk held out their hand to Asriel. He took it and Frisk pulled him to his feet.

"Welcome home, Asriel Dreemurr." Frisk said.

"Yeah." Asriel smiled, he looked down and squeezed Frisk's hand tight, "Ha ha, I don't want to let go..."

Chara smiled and squeezed back, " _You don't have to._ "


	45. Epilogue 1

Epilogue 1

 _Minutes Later..._

"Why don't you come in the water?" Frisk asked, gripping the edge of the large soaking pool and sinking down until their nose was just above the water line.

Asriel looked at the steaming pool of hot water, he smiled at them faintly as his flower petals curled in, "I just don't want to."

" _Liar_." Chara said flatly.

"What? No!" he waved his hands, "I just- I just..." He sank down, sitting on the edge of the pool beside Frisk.

" _You were always a terrible liar and now that stupid flower gives you away even more._ "

Asriel reached up and touched the yellow petals, "I wish it wasn't there..."

"At least it's cute." Frisk smiled brightly.

Asriel laughed, "Ha ha! Yeah. Thanks."

" _So why don't you want to come in the pool?_ " Chara asked.

"It, um, feels..." he pulled his knees up to his chest, "It's too hot... It reminds me of Hotland... I'd always go around it because it made me-" he stuttered on the word, "-wilt."

" _I guess you look like a goat but you're still a flower, huh?_ " Chara rested their arms on the cool tile beside him.

Frisk reach over and touched his arm, "Your fur feels like flower petals."

"...yeah." Asriel said softly.

Chara grabbed his hand, flipping it over and studying it intently, touching the smooth stem-like pads, tugging at thorn-like claws, " _You're not gonna turn back into a flower are you? Or a flower shape, anyway._ "

"Probably not...I think." Asriel said touching his own hand, "Your memories helped me change to look like this. I'd have to lose all my magic to turn back into a flower again."

"That's good." Frisk said, "Flowers are hard to hug."

Asriel smiled, "I guess so."

" _Hey. We need to agree on what we're going to tell people._ " Chara said.

Asriel stiffened, his flower drooped noticeably.

Chara narrowed their eyes at him, " _Mainly, they don't need to know._ "

"But I-!?"

" _Look. Telling everyone what you did as a flower is only going to make you feel better, nobody else. They don't_ remember. _It'll only make people upset._ "

Asriel wrapped his arms around his legs. "But if I don't tell everyone is gonna treat me like- like..."

Frisk said, "Like a... a magical fairytale prince back after a thousand year curse turned them into a flower."

"...and not a soulless murderer." Asriel muttered into his knees.

" _Sounds rough,_ "Chara rolled their eyes.

"Shut up." Asriel snipped.

Frisk stood up, patting his shoulder, "It's not that bad. We'll keep the secret together." They smiled and stepped out, shivering and grabbing a towel.

Chara dried their hair. " _...I told Asgore what I did,_ " they pulled the towel down over their eyes, " _I'll probably tell Toriel too_."

"But I'm not supposed to tell!?" Asriel stumbled to his feet.

Chara dropped their head and walked back to the changing room, Asriel following close at their heels. They pick up the freshly cleaned purple shirt with cream stripes and looked at it, " _...If you want to I won't stop you._ " Chara said, quickly pulling the shirt over their head. There was a second pile of neatly folded clothes beside their one, a set of Asriel's old clothes, brown slack and a yellow and green striped shirt. Chara pick it up and tossed it to him. " _Here._ _Sans must have brought them._ "

Asriel reached out, fumbling them from the air and almost dropping them, "Don't throw them, you idiot!"

Chara grinned, " _I like your sass, mister._ "

Asriel fumed, "Shut up!" He yanked the pants on, almost tripping because they were too long and he had to roll them up. They hurriedly pulled on the shirt, "AH! OW!" He froze, the hole for his head tangled with the golden flower, "Help please!"

Frisk giggled and carefully eased the flower through so he could pull the shirt on. He pouted furiously and refused to look them in the eye as they pulled on their socks.

"Hey, Asriel?" Frisk said quietly as they tied their shoes.

"What."

Frisk tugged a shoelace into a perfect bow, "Could you please not tell anyone about the timeline stuff?"

He crossed his arms and wouldn't look at them.

"Please," Frisk stood and tugged on his sleeve, "for me? It'll be... hard if everyone knows how much I've died... I-" they looked down, squeezing the thin fabric between their fingers, "I don't don't want them to know."

"Fine." Asriel conceded with a huff.

"Thank you!" Frisk smiled brightly and gave him a quick hug. "Let's go," They grabbed his hand and headed for the door, pulling Asriel after them. They froze at the doorframe.

"Ah Frisk and Chara!" Asgore said brightly, rising from a bench in front of the bathhouse that seemed far too small for him. He looked at them his brow furrowing, "Sans asked me to bring down an outfit, did you not need one?"

"Oh, um...thanks." Frisk said softly. They could feel Asriel huddling behind their back, hands trembling as he grasped the back of their shirt in both hands.

"I would ask Sans, but he was gone before I arrived." Asgore sighed, "He also left me the bill." He blinked and hurriedly waved his hands, "I do not mind, of course!"

Frisk took a deep breath, gripping the hem of their shirt tightly with both hands, "Pop-pop? I have to tell you something."

"Yes?" Asgore said.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, "I stole one of the human souls!"

" _We._ " Chara amended, " _We stole one of the human souls to make the modified soul_."

"I'm sorry." Frisk said to the ground, too afraid to look up.

"One of the souls? I... This is..." Asgore tone darkened, he turned away from them, "Those were for the good of monster-kind-! Held in trust. This is-!" They could see his fingers curl, gripped tight, "This is unacceptable."

"Please-!" Asriel burst out, peeking around their shoulder, "don't be mad at them!"

Asgore stared.

"They did it for me." Asriel said nervously.

There was a dull thump as Asgore's knees hit the ground. He raised shaking hands and pressed them against his eyes, "Is this a dream?"

Frisk took Asriel's hand and pulled him forward.

"A joke?" Asgore said faintly, "Perhaps I have finally met my fate?"

They reached up and wrapped a small hand around one of Asgore's fingers, tugging his hand down away from his face.

" _Come on, say something Azzy._ " Chara prompted impatiently.

Asriel raised his hand then dropped it, opened his mouth but nothing came out. Tears trailed down his cheeks.

Asgore reached out and touched his son's arm, his eyes widened. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Asriel and Frisk, picking them up as if they were made of glass and hugging them so gently, afraid to squeeze.

As if a spell had been broken, Asriel lurched forward, burying his face into Asgore's thick golden mane, "I-I missed you so much Dad!"

"Asriel." Asgore's voice rumbled. He rested his head against Asriel's, "Asriel. My boy."

Chara smiled fondly and hugged Asgore shoulder, a short, tight squeeze, " _You two are such crybabies._ "

Asriel lifted his head and glared over at Chara, "You're crying too!"

" _What?_ " Chara scoffed, wiping their eyes dry with the sleeve of the their shirt, " _Am not. Frisk is crying._ "

Frisk giggled.

" _Don't you dare._ "

Frisk giggled harder.

"You're such a liar, Chara!" Asriel said, pointing at them accusingly.

" _Can't prove it._ " Chara sniffed and looked away airily.

Asriel grabbed his ears tugging on them in frustration, "You're the worst!"

Asgore laughed, deep and booming and hugged them tight, every laugh echoed through them like speaker bass. Frisk giggled in delight at the rumble. Asriel grimly clung to his sweater, his mouth twitching as he tried not to laugh.

Chara snorted at the look on his face, leaning into Asgore and laughing until they hiccuped which only made both Frisk and Chara laugh even harder between each loud squeak. Asgore echoed their laughter, patting their back sympathetically. Asriel's stubbornness broke and he sputtered into laughter, all of them laughing until their ribs ached and tears leaked from their eyes.


	46. Epilogue 2

(a/n: So much shit has happened over the last three-four weeks. I just want a week were nothing much happens, that would be great. That's why this chapter is late and I haven't been replying to reviews and ect... This chapter ended up being a lot more emotionally heavy than I thought it would be too. SO, sorry, and thank you.)

.

Epilogue 2

 _Hours Later..._

Frisk hand froze mid knock, they glanced back at Asgore, trying to shuffle backwards even though his back was already pressed against the trees.

"Go on!" Asriel said, bouncing on his heels.

Chara narrowed their eyes, " _You knock if you're in such a hurry._ "

Asriel stopped bouncing and looked down at his feet, "Well..."

Chara smirked.

Frisk knocked on the door and said aloud, "Knock, knock!"

They waited, pressed their ear to the door, didn't hear anything then, a clatter of feet running down stone. Frisk knocked again, "Knock, knock?"

"Who-" Toriel said breathlessly, "Who's there?"

"Frisk!"

They could hear the smile in her voice, "Frisk who?"

"I Frisk you!"

"I missed you too!" She laughed pulling the door open. "Oh-!" her hands flew to her mouth.

"Hi mom." Asriel said softly.

"...Asriel?" She knelt down in front of him and cupped his face in her hands. "...Asriel."

Asriel wrapped his hands around hers, "Don't cry mom."

"How? How can this be?" Tears streamed down her face as she hugged Asriel tightly. She held him out at arms length and looked him over, touching the black marks on his cheeks, squeezing his hands. Her hand brushed his flower and his twitched his head away, reaching up and covering the flower protectively.

"...It's attached." He said nervously.

"Let me see," Toriel caught his chin and turned his head towards her. She studied the flower closely but did not touch it.

Asriel fidgeted under her gaze, "Um... can we go inside? I don't like the cold."

"Of course." She sniffed and briskly wiped her eyes, "Let us go." She offered a hand to both Asriel and Frisk.

Asriel clung onto her hand.

Frisk hesitated, looking back at Asgore, huddled back into the trees like an abandoned kitten.

Toriel followed their gaze and went noticeably cold, "What are you doing here?"

Frisk hurried over to him, ducking Toriel's panicked grab for their arm. They went to his side and held up their hand. He took their hand gratefully and smiled gently.

"My child, you should come to me." Toriel said, trying to sound calm.

Frisk smiled, "Pop-pop brought us here."

"It's dad." Asriel said anxiously.

Toriel frowned, "Your father has done bad things, unforgivable things."

"I know." Asriel said. His bow creased, "I've done bad things too."

Toriel said, "I am certain you-"

"You don't know!" Asriel frowned. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing tight, "...You don't know."

" _Can we all go inside for now?_ " Chara asked.

They all looked at Toriel.

She pressed her mouth into a thin line and nodded reluctantly. They all walked through the narrow dimly lit passage and up to the small cozy little house, smelling sweetly of pie and the smoky tinge of fire magic.

Asriel hurried to the fireplace, glancing back at Toriel, "I'm cold."

She ran over and stretched her hands out, filling the fireplace with warm flicking flames. Asgore stayed back, sitting in the first dining chair near the entry to the living room.

Toriel stepped back and sat on the edge of her armchair leaning forward, "How did this happen?" She asked again.

Frisk joined Asriel at the fire, holding out their hands to warm them. He squirmed anxiously. Frisk smiled and bumped him playfully.

Asriel relaxed a little and smiled back, "Um...when I, uh, when I died, my dust fell in the throne room and then all those golden flowers bloomed?" He hesitated, Chara nodded encouragingly and he continued, "Alphys, the head scientist, took the first flower that bloomed and used it in her experiments... she injected it with determination and I... woke up... as, as a flower." He reached up and brushed the flower on his temple, "I still am, I just look more like my old self, cause of the soul Chara and Frisk made."

Toriel covered her mouth with her hands, eyes swimming with tears. Asgore was crying big blubbering tears.

"How long?" Toriel asked, her voice crackled with emotion, "Why did you not come to us?"

Asriel stared at the fire, his brow furrowed, his flower drooped slightly, "...I didn't have a soul."

Toriel said, "But you could have-!"

"I couldn't feel!" He yelled, "I couldn't feel love or hope or compassion! Nothing!"

Toriel gasped in shock.

Chara offered him their hand.

Asriel looked down at their open palm and took it with a huff. "I did bad things when I was a flower, I was a bad person."

Frisk squeezed his hand and smiled encouragingly.

"I'm-" He squeezed back, "I'm not the same as when I died. I'm Asriel but I'm also Flowey. Ok?" He turned slightly, looking up at his parents, "I've changed. Just like you."

Asgore nodded his eyes shadowed.

Toriel blinked back tears.

" _But you're here and that's better than not._ " Chara said.

"Yeah." Asriel smiled.

Chara leaned to his ear and whispered, " _There's butterscotch pie._ "

He perked up and looked at Toriel hopefully, "There's pie? Can I have some? Pleeaaase?!"

Toriel smiled and went to the kitchen. Asriel ran to the table, climbing into the small chair and bouncing with excitement as Toriel returned with a slice of pie. As soon as she sat it down he nudged the pie off the edge of the plate and took a huge bite.

"Asriel!" Toriel tsked, pushing a fork in his hand and moved the plate back off the edge.

He used the fork to slice another huge bite and scooped it into his mouth, "Ss'Sogood!"

"Do not talk with your mouth full." Toriel chided, sitting down in the other chair beside him.

Asgore looked longingly at the pie. He looked away when he saw Frisk staring.

"Do you want some pie too, Pop-pop?" Frisk asked.

"Ah..." he pulled his hands into his lap and squeezed them tight together, "I would not wish to impose."

"I do not have pie for murders." Toriel said coldly.

"Oh... I see..." Asgore said softly. He stared down at his shaking hands, "Toriel ...I am," He hesitated, his face twisting with pain, "I know I shouldn't have... I... I am truly sorry for what I did."

"You think an apology will fix everything?!" They all jumped as Toriel's hand hit the table, "You think apologizing will bring them back?!"

Chara stiffened, a sour taste rising in the back of their mouth.

"No." Asgore said quietly.

She stood abruptly, the chair clattering back behind her, "They are dead and it is your fault!"

Asgore said, "I know it is not enough, will never be enough..."

Chara swallowed painfully.

"Please stop." Frisk said softly.

"You made your choice, Asgore Dreemur and now you have to live with it." Toriel said.

Chara clenched their jaw, "... _How many would've died? How many would've fallen down without hope and turned to dust? How many monsters were saved in exchange for seven lives?_ " Their throat ached, " _You did nothing so you think your hands are clean?_ "

Toriel gasped, "Frisk!"

" _Why isn't it enough to be sorry?_ " They pressed their mouth into a tight line, furiously trying not to cry, their voice shaking like a leaf, " _I don't ha-ave anything e-else._ "

Asgore engulfed them in a hug before they were even aware he had moved. Chara clung to his sweater, hiding their face in the curve of his shoulder.

"It is ok." Asgore said softly, "You were but a child. I should have known better."

" _If I ha-hadn't-_ " They whispered, " _It's all my fa-fault-_ "

Asriel jumped off his chair, running over and wiggling into Asgore's hug, "It's my fault too. We all suck, ok?"

Chara laughed weakly.

"...I don't understand..." Toriel said faintly, "What is going on? Why is Frisk acting like...that?"

Asriel elbowed Chara.

Chara sniffled and turned their head slightly so their voice wouldn't be muffled, " _Knock knock._ "

Toriel crossed her arms, frowning slightly, "...who is there?"

" _..._ " Chara swallowed and said feebly, " _...chara._ "

Toriel's breathe caught in her throat, coming out in a rush, "Chara who?"

" _I chara about you._ " Chara said, blushing in embarrassment. They tapped on Asgore's chest and he let them go. They turned towards Toriel unable to look at her; too scared to even look at her feet, they stared at their own, " _I poisoned myself so Asriel could take my soul and cross the barrier. We were going to kill six more humans to break the barrier instead I got us both killed._ " they curled their hands into fists, " _It's my fault dad declared war on humanity, my fault you left, my fault those six kids died._.." They squeezed their eyes closed, " _I'm sorry but that doesn't matter..._ "

Frisk shuffled their feet, pressing the toes of their shoes together, "Chara is sharing my soul. They guided me through the Underground and they're my friend."

Asriel grabbed their hand squeezing it tight and standing in front of them defensively, "And they're my friend!"

"They're my _best_ friend." Frisk said a little defensively.

Asriel narrowed his eyes, "They're my best friend and _my sibling_!"

"Chara asked to be my sibling too." Frisk said, "And they share _my_ soul."

Chara laughed weakly, " _Both of you have awful taste._ "

"No we don't, you idiot!" Asriel said testily.

"Asriel! Language!" Toriel scolded. She blinked, her shoulders relaxing as if she had broken free from a spell. She knelt down in front of them, "...I should not have said what I did. Apologies _do_ matter. I am just, still hurt by the loss of the other children and it will take me a long time to... accept Asgore's apology."

Chara intently studied her expression.

"I am... upset, that you felt you had to risk so much for monsterkind," She reached out and smoothed their hair, "...I wish you had known that the greatest gifts in our lives were the two of you. I would have given anything not to have lost you but I have you back now and would not have it any other way."

They smiled and blinked back tears, " _Thank you, Mom_."


	47. Epilogue 3

(a/n: Things are looking up! Shit's calmed down so I'm confident in promising weekly updates again, Wednesdays for the forseeable future. Thanks peeps! I hope you enjoy the fluff!)

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Epilogue 3

 _Days Later..._

"Pap! We're gonna be late!" Frisk called up towards Papyrus' door as they pulled on their shoes.

"COMING!" Papyrus slammed his door open and ran down the stairs. He was wearing an orange sweater and faded slacks with his red boots and scarf.

" _No battle body?_ " Chara asked.

Frisk bounced excitedly on their toes, "It looks nice!"

He scooped them up under the arms, lifting them up high overhead so Frisk giggled, and resting them against his ribcage, "A BATTLE BODY IS FOR BATTLE! I HAVE DECIDED TO RESERVE IT FOR WORK." He carried them outside and down to the ferry and bounce aboard, "WATERFALL, PLEASE!"

He sat them down on the deck as the River person pushed off and they began to float downstream.

Papyrus sat down on his heels so he was level with them. "DOES THIS SMILE LOOK NATURAL?" He asked, pointing as he put on a bright Papyrusy grin.

Frisk nodded.

"I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY GONE TO ONE OF SANS 'PERFORMANCES' " he made exaggerated finger quotes, "I WANT TO BE SUPPORTIVE BUT..." he grimaced, "...UGH."

" _You should test it then_ ," Chara said with a wicked grin.

"HOW?" Papyrus' eyes narrowed slightly.

" _Come on, smile_." They prompted impatiently.

Papyrus slowly put on his smile.

" _Ok!_ " Chara said vibrating with excitement, " _I'm gonna do my best to_ humerus _so I hope you're ready for some real_ rib-ticklers _!_ "

Papyrus' grin twitched.

Chara went on enthusiastically, " _I know skeleton jokes aren't very_ clavicle _or_ hip _but sometimes they're just what you need to tickle your_ funny-bone _."_

Sweat dripped down his forehead.

" _I've got a_ skele-ton _of puns, I have a_ tendon _-cy to get carried away._ " Chara raised an eyebrow questioningly, their grin growing.

Their was the faint sound of teeth grinding together. Papyrus' brow's drew together.

" _These jokes are very_ bare bones _but it was the best a_ bonehead _like me could come up with on short notice. Good to see you didn't lose your_ backbone." Chara's grin relaxed and they leaned forward briefly, tapping Papyrus' forehead with their own, " _That was perfect, Pap._ "

Papyrus shuddered briefly and relaxed, smiling triumphantly, "OF COURSE! THERE IS NOT CHALLENGE THE GREAT PAPYRUS CANNOT HANDLE! NOT EVEN AWFUL, AWFUL PUNS!"

Frisk giggled, latching onto Papyrus' hand as he stood up and the ferry slowed at the Waterfall stop. He swung them onto the bank and stepped off after them. Frisk hurried towards Undyne's house, towing Papyrus along impatiently.

The toothy door of Undyne's house slid open as they approached and Frisk let go of Papyrus' hand to run over.

Undyne smiled hugely as she stepped outside and spotted Frisk. She took two running steps, caught them under the arms, tossed them so high in the air they almost brushed the ceiling, smoothly caught them again and sat them on their feet on the ground, " 'Sup punks?!" She ruffled their hair.

Frisk grinned breathlessly, their face flushed. "Hi Undyne!"

" _Aw man, you're TOO COOL!_ " Chara groaned.

"Thanks." She grinned and turned back toward the house, "Alphys! Papyrus and the kiddos are here, you ready?"

Alphys ran out the door, almost tripping in her haste, "S-Sorry! I just, just had to um... never mind. I'm ready to go," her scales pinked with embarrassment, absently smoothing nonexistent wrinkles in her polkadot dress.

"Come on!" Undyne said hurrying towards the ferry, "We can't miss the opener!" She hooked her arm around Papyrus' neck as they crossed paths. He just barely managed to twist around and avoid being dragged to the ferry by his neck. "Pap, have you see Burgy?! I saw his first show and the stories he tells are HILARIOUS!"

Alphys matched pace with Frisk a few steps behind, "I-I don't know, I just felt really b-bad for him and e-embarrassed..."

Undyne called over her shoulder, "He wouldn't tell them on stage if they weren't meant to be laughed at!"

Alphys grimaced, "I-I guess..."

" _Hey Alphys?_ " Chara asked, " _Are you busy tomorrow?_ "

She looked over at them as they paused by the ferry landing, "Not really, I mean, I'm not doing anything that I can't do l-later."

" _I wanted to go look around the dump and I thought it'd be more fun together and,_ " Chara hesitated briefly, " _I wanted to talk to you about some ideas I had about possible projects for improving the Underground..._ "

"O-oh! Um-"

"Come on, you guys!" Undyne said impatiently.

"Right!" Alphys took Undyne's offered hand and hopped onto the ferry. Frisk jumped aboard next to her, Papyrus' hand automatically going to their back to steady them.

Alphys asked, "Do the King and, uhhh, Queen know-? Or, um, approve of- of-?"

" _I wanted to get your opinion first and then tell them. Toriel is probably going to take a lot of convincing so I need to have a strong proposal ready._ "

"I think they're good ideas!" Frisk volunteered.

Chara smiled, " _Thanks, Frisk but I need more sciencey help._ "

Alphys tugged on her fingers anxiously, "W-Well, just give me a call and I c-can show you all the best places in the dump."

" _We'll text you._ " Chara said, looking up as the air grew hot and the soft darkness was replaced by a brilliant red-orange light.

Undyne hurried them through the blistering heat to the elevators, cursing up a storm under her breath as the doors finally shut and carried them up to MTT Resort.

The lobby was already crowded with people heading for the show. Frisk hadn't bothered reserving tickets, they had a contact on the inside.

"Hello Darlings!" Mettaton crooned, the crowd parting before him like a biblical sea. He was in his EX form, all pink, chrome and perfectly coifed anime hair.

Frisk waved excitedly.

"You look lovely! Purple is definitely your color," he praised them, turning to Alphys with a bright smile, "And you look adorable Alphys!"

Alphys blushed but still did her best to look stern, "Th-those new batteries are better than the old ones but that doesn't mean you should be using them all the time!"

"Darling, my public needs me to be fabulous one hundred percent of the time, I can't disappoint them!" He did a little pirouette, "Besides! This is a special event, our darling little heroes are in attendance." He framed Frisk with both hands. "You simply must do an interview with me before the show! The ratings will go through the roof!"

Frisk giggled.

Chara flushed, " _We're already going to do a show every week,_ " they protested feebly.

"Leave it up to me!" Frisk said with a bounce.

"That's my little star!" Mettaton glowed.

"Oh!" Frisk turned and grabbed Papyrus' hand and pulled him forward, "Mettaton! This is Papyrus! He's my big bro and he's a huge fan!"

"WOWIE." Papyrus said dumbstruck, stars in his eyes.

Mettaton smiled brightly and shook Papyrus' hand, "Papyrus?! You've written me letters, haven't you? You always include wonderful pictures of your cooking from my show recipes!"

He nodded frantically.

" _His cooking is getting really good._ " Chara said nonchalantly, " _Especially his spaghetti._ "

Papyrus managed, "IT'S- IT'S MY SPECIALTY!"

"Hmm..." Mettaton appraised him critically, "Well darling, if you can get over being star struck maybe you can guest star on my cooking show some day."

Papyrus' eyes went wide, "THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD BE HONORED AND DELIGHTED AND- WOWIE!"

Mettaton smiled, "I love your enthusiasm! I'll have my people call you about a screen test in the next week." He told the group, "Your table is reserved near the front, just tell Alice at the door that you're part of Frisk and Chara's party." He offered his hand to Frisk, "Come along darlings! The camera waits for no one!"

Frisk took his hand and they walked into the back of the resort where Mettaton had an interview booth set up and they spoke briefly about the upcoming comedy show. Chara relaxed enough to talk about their love of puns and even managed one good one that made Mettaton grimace. Once that was done, Mettaton went to prepare for his MC duties and Frisk ran back out to the lobby and went to the desk at the dining room entrance.

The large green and blue fish, Alice, asked, "Tickets? Reservations?"

Frisk raised their hand, "I'm Frisk!"

" _And Chara._ "

"Oh! Of course!" Alice said quickly, "Your table is at the front, your friends have already been seated." they lowered their voice, "I loved you on the special. Especially the battle finale!"

" _Thank you._ " Chara said with stiff formality.

Frisk grinned, "Thanks!"

They ran into the dining room. There were a lot more tables and chairs set up than before, and a large section of chairs lined up in front of the chair. Papyrus waved to them from a table at the front on the dining room side of the stage.

There was an empty chair waiting for them and someone sitting beside it they hadn't expected to see.

" _I thought you were grounded for calling Toriel an idiot._ " Chara said as they sat down beside Asriel.

"Yeah, well I don't care." Asriel said airily with a shrug, "I told her I can't _do_ fire magic anymore but she keeps pushing me to practice."

Frisk raised their brows, "She's gonna be sooo mad."

"Ugh." Asriel groaned and laid his chin on the edge of the table, "Will you an Chara help me talk to her? I don't think she gets it, about me being a flower."

" _We can try_." Chara said.

Frisk grabbed a soft breadstick from the center of the table, "It's gonna be hard an' stuff 'cause your soul is weird and you're not a boss monster really so like..." they hesitated and took a bite off the end of the breadstick.

Asriel lined his fingers up on edge of the table, "They're still gonna live forever and I'm not. Probably."

Chara and Frisk shrugged.

He sat up abruptly and bit the breadstick, pulling it from their hand.

"Hey!" Frisk lunged forward to grab it back but Asriel leaned back out of the way. He grinned as he tore off the end and ate it.

" _You're going about it the wrong way Frisk_ ," Chara said. They made a feint to grab the breadstick again and as Asriel jerked out of the way their other hand went down and tickled his side.

"AH-HA-HA-HA-CHARA! CUT-HA-HA-!" Asriel tried to squirm away, stubbornly hold the breadstick out of reach.

"I THINK," Papyrus' arm reached over them and took the breadstick away from Asriel, "IT'S NOT THE TIME FOR SUCH LOUD SILLINESS."

Chara and Asriel froze.

He waggled a long finger at them, "I TOO ENJOY TOMFOOLERY WITH MY FRIENDS BUT THIS IS A VERY NICE PLACE AND I THINK YOU SHOULD NOT BE QUITE SO... MUCH, AT LEAST RIGHT NOW."

Chara sat back in their chair, " _Sorry Pap._ "

"Sorry," Asriel rolled his eyes and slumped back in his chair.

Papyrus regarded the bread basket and pulled out two fresh breadsticks and offered one to both of them with a grin and a, "NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk and Asriel took the breadsticks. Asriel played with his sulkily.

Frisk nibbled on theirs, "Did mum finish moving back to New Home?"

"Yeah. She moved back into the house and cleaned out her old room. She's renovating Dad's room and our old room, whole house stinks like fresh paint..." Asriel pressed the end of the breadstick on the table trying to squash it down without letting it bend, "Dad has a cot set up in the throne room. A COT! The king of the Underground sleeps on a cot in his flower garden."

Chara snorted, " _That's hilarious._ "

"Well, mom lets him eat meals with us now so that's cool. They talk at night when they think I'm asleep." The breadstick bent and he frowned, forcing it straight with his other hand and continuing to squish it into a breadstick pellet, "I think they're working out their stupid issues. Mom doesn't _always_ glare at him. Yesterday, when they were talking about future stuff she said he had a good idea once..."

" _Really? What was it?_ " Chara asked.

Asriel shrugged, "I wasn't really listening."

" _Ugh. Azzy._ " Chara shook their head.

Asriel mooshed his bread, "Whatever."

Frisk saw motion out of the corner of their eye and turned towards the stage. Blook floated out from the side stage and sat down at a little sound table, with a keyboard and sound balancing equipment. They were wearing a little ghostly bowtie.

Frisk waved excitedly when they saw them.

Napstablook paused from putting on their headphones and shyly waved back. The audience slowly went quiet as the lights dimmed and Mettaton's theme began to swell, the music sounded a little different, tweaked for a comedy show. Behind them, cameras began to roll as Mettaton stepped out on the stage with a dramatic flourish, "OH YESSSS! Welcome, Beauties! I can already tell it's going to amazing show tonight!" Everyone cheered, Mettaton posed and let the crowd settle before continuing, "Prepare to laugh because tonight we have a knockout set of comedians; Mr. Snowdrake, master of the cold open!" Everyone clapped, "July Heat, a Pyrope whose jokes are simply on fire!" Someone whistled and there was a scattering of laughter, "And of course, the star or tonights performance, Sans the Skeleton," Papyrus cheered so loud Frisk had to cover their ears, "But to start us all off, we have a new talent, MTT Resorts own, Burger Pants! Everyone give him a round of applause!"

Frisk clapped as the stage briefly dimmed as the show began.


	48. Epilogue 4

Notes: This is a serious chapter. Not funny at all. I planned a serious chapter without any funny moments. I certainly didn't nearly choke laughing at my own stupid imagery. Because this a serious chapter, like I planned... yup.

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Epilogue 4

 _Weeks later..._

Chara turned a page in the book they were reading. They used their foot to keep it open as they groped around for their blue highlighter. Their other hand was currently busy being pressed against the barrier while Frisk did, whatever it was they did during their barrier communion. They spent at least one of their days every week at the barrier. Chara preferred to use their three days on _useful_ things.

The highlighter had rolled under their knee, they pulled it out and took the cap off with their teeth. They didn't bother to look up when they heard the sucking silence of Sans teleport close by.

"yo." Sans shuffled over to them.

Chara grunted a greeting, finished highlighting, and went to recap the highlighter.

Sans bumped their hand, the highlighter jumped off the cap and skittered across their cheek.

Chara glared up at him. " _Really?_ "

"heh," Sans grinned, plucking the highlighter out of their hand, squatting down in front of them, "let me help you with that."

Chara caught his wrist, " _You're going to draw on Frisk's face aren't you?_ "

"me?" Sans said, affronted at the very notion, "never." he grinned, "i'm just being helpful."

" _You know what?_ " Chara raised their eyebrows, "... _I'll let you but,_ only _, if I can draw a swirly poop on your forehead._ "

He hesitated very briefly, "deal."

Chara pulled the pen out of his hand and applied it to Sans forehead, " _Quit snickering or this is going to look even stupider._ " They finished and handed Sans the highlighter.

He took it from them and drew on their cheeks with a few quick flicks.

Chara held up the highlighter lid and Sans pushed it back on with a click. " _Whiskers?_ "

"you look _purr_ fect." he grinned.

Chara smiled despite themselves and rolled their eyes, " _You're_ paws _itivly awful_."

"a walking _cat_ astrophe." He looked down at their small pile of books and lifted them up, his brow furrowing as he read aloud, "city logistics... urban sprawl and public health...building cities that work... geez, aren't kids like you supposed to be reading fun, easy kid stuff?"

" _My favorite book is Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto but I haven't been able to find my old copy._ " Chara bookmark their spot and closed their book.

"yeesh, no fluffy bunny then?"

Chara smiled smugly and shrugged.

Sans slowly stood up and stretched, his bones popping loudly, "i thought you were knitting that sweater for papyrus?"

" _I'd need two hands for that._ " Chara said looking pointedly at the barrier their one hand was stuck against, " _I finished it anyway. He hugged me so hard I thought I might die, again._ "

"you know what the kid's up to anyway?" Sans asked.

Chara shook their head, " _All they ever told me was that studying the barrier was the only way they could see human soul magic._ "

"hm." Sans grunted narrowing his eyes slightly.

" _Oh-_ " Chara perked up slightly, " _You can ask them yourself._ "

"Ask me what?" Frisk said distantly, blinking rapidly in the bright light.

Sans sighed, "what you're always doing here at the barrier."

"Studying it." Frisk said stretching their arm.

"you're not straining your soul are you?"

Frisk smiled and shook their head, "No. It's ok. MK stabilized it pretty well. The crack is mostly healed."

"mostly." Sans said pointedly.

Frisk said, "You should let MK heal you too, I think it would help, at least a little. They're very strong."

Sans grimace and shrugged.

Chara straighten their books into a single neat stack and put them into their phone's pocket dimensional storage unit, " _If you asked them they probably wouldn't tell anyone, since, you know, you're more concerned about worrying Pap than falling down from a stubbed toe._ "

"very funny." Sans said flatly.

Chara responded equally flatly, " _I'm always hilarious._ "

They gave each other a brief glare with no real edge in it. Chara broke first, a smirk breaking onto their face. They started to get up and Sans offered his hand, pulling them up with a- "FffthPbbttPbbbtffthhhpbt..."

Sans blinked and looked down, at his empty hand.

" _The o-old whoopee cushion in the hand trick-!_ " Chara snorted, " _Ha-haha,HAhaha, ha- ha-!_ "Chara braced their hands on their knees.

"that's my thing." Sans said affronted.

Chara wiped their eyes and peeled the whoopee off their palm and tossed it to Sans, " _Here!_ " they snickered.

"You're such a dork." Frisk sighed, pressing their hands to their flushed cheeks. "They're been trying to pull that off all week."

" _It was totally worth it, did you see the look on his face!_ " Chara crowed.

Frisk shook their head, "I don't get your sense of humor sometimes."

Sans stuffed the whoopee cushion his pocket, "if you're done, pap sent me to get you for dinner."

Frisk nodded and then looked back up at the barrier in thought, "...Before we go..."

"yeah?" Sans shifted his weight and rested his hands in his pockets, a resigned look on his face.

"The barrier." Frisk looked back at him, "You know how a human soul is strong enough to get in but you need a human soul plus a monster soul to get out?"

He nodded, "yup."

"That's not... it's not how the spell should work. It's unbalanced, on purpose." They frowned, "I think the humans made it unbalanced so a human could come in but have to kill a monster to get out."

"in case they wanted to finish us off." Sans smiled humorlessly.

Chara said, " _It's good they forgot about this place_."

"I think I can adjust the spell." Frisk said touching the barrier, "I could stabilize it. So one human soul can get in and out or you'd need a human plus monster soul to get in or out. It wants to tip one way or the other anyway but if I did change it, it'd be really hard to shift it again... I'd need to figure out how to store up determination."

"so?" Sans said.

"Should I?" Frisk asked, "And which way?"

He glanced over at them, "you're asking me?"

They nodded.

"and if i don't have an answer?" he asked.

Frisk shrugged, "I won't do anything then."

He stared at the barrier darkly, it thrummed gently, white and grey lines of power pulsing across the surface.

Frisk waited, patiently tracing their fingertips along the edge of their cellphone.

Sans ran his fingers across his thumb, tic-tic-tic-tic. He sighed, "shut 'em out."

"You sure?" Frisk asked.

He nodded, "no more humans comin' in the underground. better safe than sorry... can't risk some kid falling in here with more determination than you."

"Ok. If you're really sure." they waited until he nodded again before turning to the barrier and summoning up their soul, the gentle red glow reflected off the barrier. They put their hands on the surface. Soul magic tingled across their palms; they had learned how to redirect it and keep it from flowing through their body so it couldn't hurt them. Frisk reached into the tangle of soul power and determination, a web of magic as strong as steel cables and just as difficult to effect, except the balance. That was easy, the alterations to the barrier that made the lopsided power structure possible were a lot more flimsy than the rest of the spell and under a lot more pressure.

They pressed determination into the weak points, stabilized the others, working with the spells original form to override the modifications. With a surge of determination the balance shifted, the spell snapped in place like a rubber band and set just as strong as before. A human soul plus a monster soul to get in or out.

The thrumming pulse of the barrier changed and throbbed, immense waves of power pulsing out from Frisk hands like ripples in a pond and then faded. Frisk looked through the barrier. Balancing the barrier had made the surface almost completely clear. The world outside wasn't just a blur of light and color behind waves of distorting power; now they could see blue skies, clouds, trees. Birds swooped and circled outside. The sun dipped behind a cloud and the shadow gently passed over them.

"so that's what it looks like." Sans said quietly.

Frisk looked back at him.

His eyes flickered back and forth across the new horizon, his expression unreadable.

" _This will probably become a popular spot._ " Chara said, their eyes following the curve of the barrier up to where it disappeared into the rock, "... _I wonder if it could be made bigger? More accessible..._ " They crossed their arms, " _This and the ruins can't be the only places were the barrier is close to the surface... if monsters could have more access to the outside and the sun it would be good for their mental health. ...hmm, I'll have to talk to Toriel and Alphys about it..._ "

As if coming out of trance Sans said distantly, "paps... we should bring him back here after, after dinner, he'd love this."

"I bet he'll really like the sunset! Sunsets can be red and orange or turn pink with shades of purple. They're so pretty," Frisk smiled, " I really love sunsets."

" _And then when it gets dark you can see the stars._ " Chara added.

Sans breath caught in his throat, "...the stars..."

They all stared outside.

Sans cellphone trilled, shocking him back to reality. He quickly fumbled it out of his pocket, "sorry, pap,- no, they're fine, just got caught up talkin' is all..."

"We should probably tell someone about the barrier." Frisk said softly.

Chara nodded and pulled their phone out.

"right, i know, _i know_ , we'll be right there." Sans hung up and pushed his phone back into his pocket, "right let's get going before pap runs over here to get us himself."

Chara nodded vaguely and finished their group text to Asgore, Toriel and Asriel, which read, _Come check out the barrier!_

"That's all you're going to say?" Frisk protested.

Chara grinned slightly and hit send, " _It's only too bad I can't be here to see their faces._ "

"come on, kids." Sans said impatiently, tapping his sneaker for emphasis.

Frisk half ran over to his side, grabbing hold of his sleeve.

"remember what i told you about mapping the underground with a mental grid?" Sans said.

Frisk nodded.

"have you been practicing like i told you?"

They hesitated.

Sans sighed, "the only way you're going to learn how to teleport accurately is if you get used to using a grid when you teleport and then quantify the amount of determination required to pass through a square and see if that amount is stable or exponential with distance."

"I'll work on it." Frisk said meekly.

"good." Sans said shortly, "make sure you at least watch while i'm teleporting."

"I will." Frisk said, squeezing the arm of his jacket, "Um, Sans? Why... why is there a blue poo drawn on your forehead?"

"heh." he grinned, "let's go."

He stepped forward, his blue gravitational magic wrapping around them and snapping them to the other side of the underground, landing right in front of Sans sentry station, bordering Snowdin and Waterfall.

Frisk followed him as they walked back to the house. Inside, Papyrus was pacing back and forth in front of the tv. He was wearing a vibrant orange, hand knit sweater; in white letters on the front were the words, 'THE GREAT'.

Papyrus froze when they came in, then bounced over to them, his bones rattling from excitement, "YOU KNOW HOW I ASKED YOU TO STAY OVER AT THE QUEENS?"

Frisk barely got out, "For two days-"

"WE HAD TO PREPARE THE BEST SURPRISE THAT HAS EVER BEEN PREPARED IN THE HISTORY OF MONSTERDOM-"

"your room's done." Sans said.

"SAAAANNS!" Papyrus stomped in frustration. He grabbed the front of his brothers jacket, shaking him gently with each word, "IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BE A SURPRISE!"

Sans just grinned.

Frisk looked up. Construction had been going on for weeks. Upstairs, across from Sans room, a new room had been built over the dining area. Now it was finally done.

" _I should've know something was up with your special two day sleepover extravaganza._ "

"Can we see?! Can we see?!" Frisk bounced.

Papyrus swept his arm out grandly, "OF COURSE-"

Frisk ran up the stairs with a squeal of delight, followed behind by Papyrus and even further behind by Sans. They ran down to the new door, it had a little plaque hanging on it that said, 'Frisk & Chara's Room!' They pushed the door open.

The room was painted the pale blueish-purple Frisk and Chara had picked out together. The carpet was grey. On the wall overlooking the living room there was a window cutout so they could look down into the living room. There was a bed, a twin with a simple white bed frame and on either side of the room were two sets of mirrored furniture, two bed stands, two small bookshelves and two small dressers. One bookshelf was already almost full of various scavenged books, the other bookshelf had a faded ribbon, tough gloves, ballet shoes, a red leaf from the ruins, other assorted keepsakes, and one book on introduction to magic theory. It was a room, for the both of them.

Chara swallowed hard, "... _oh...fuck._ "

"CHARA!" Papyrus scolded as he came up behind them.

" _Sorry, Pap._ " They sniffed and wiped their eyes as they turned towards him, " _Sorry._ " they smiled awkwardly, lower lip trembling.

"DID I- IS SOMETHING WRONG-?" he asked in alarm.

They barreled into him, gripping onto his sweater.

"Thankyou!Thankyou!Thankyou! It's so wonderful and nice and perfect! I've never had my own room before!" Frisk bubbled, crying happily.

Papyrus knelt down and hugged them properly, "NYEH HEH HEH! I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT!"

" _Thanks for.. you didn't have to go to all the trouble,_ " Chara mumbled, embarrassed and happy and embarrassed about being happy.

"hey. i helped too, where's my thank you?" Sans said sounding wounded and hurt, and grinning like a cheshire cat.

Papyrus rolled his eyes and pulled Sans into the hug with one long arm.

"whoa! this is-" he squirmed "-a bit much."

Papyrus squeezed a little harder, his eyes narrowed as he looked from Frisk to Sans, "SANS WHY DO YOU HAVE AN... UNFORTUNATE DRAWING ON YOUR FOREHEAD?! AND WHY DOES FRISK HAVE WHISKERS DRAWN ON THEIR FACE?"

"Whiskers?" Frisk groaned, "CHARA."

Chara snorted and looked over at Sans. They grinned at one another.

"worth it."

" _Totally worth it._ "

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notes: Update next Wednesday, 8/17


	49. Epilogue 5

(Notes: Epilogue 6 is the last one... It feels sad to see it end but at the same time I'm excited about moving on to new stories. This has been quite the ride. Geez, it's not even over and I'm feeling nostalgic.)

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Epilogue 5

 _Months later..._

"We are all gathered here today for the dedication of this monument." Asgore said solemnly to the gathered crowd and rolling cameras. The monument before him had six small human figures in a circle, arms stretched out and up, each with a stone soul in the their small hands. In the middle of the circle was the worn and cracked statue of Asriel. "Our people have gone through many hardships, being locked underground, the loss of the royal children, those who have fallen down before their time. In my grief I called for a war, so that a promise of freedom, no matter how faint, would give my people hope. The hope to keep living."

He took a deep breath. His hands began to shake and he tightly gripped the sides of the podium, "Six. Six lives, with hopes and dreams, paid the price for my foolish plan. Six young humans with full lives ahead were cut short by my war, my foolishness and grief. But those dark days are behind us. No longer will hope come from death and the promise of destruction.

"Today marks a new day where our hope will come from life, and from the future we build for our children." He gestured with one open arm to where Frisk, Chara and Asriel stood beside the podium. "A new age of hope for all of Monsterkind!" He gestured broadly, his smile a little forced, his hands still shaking slightly though you wouldn't really notice.

Toriel started the applause and everyone joined in and once it died down everyone began to disperse, leaving for the ferry, looking at the monument or gathering to the side of the podium to talk with the King.

The big camera was put away and the crowd began to disperse and make their way back towards the ferry. One camera-monster remained, with a smaller camera on their shoulder following diligently behind Mettaton who was making his way over to the side of the podium.

Frisk waved when they saw Mettaton, in his box form with his snazzy red suit.

Toriel grimaced slightly and hurried over to Asgore who was speaking with a small group of important monsters. Asriel stiffened slightly but did his best to pretend he was totally nonchalant.

"Hello, darlings!" Mettaton crooned, "I was hoping for a little exclusive~"

Chara raised their eyebrow, " _You're the only tv station in the underground, everything you make is exclusive, Mettaton._ "

"Details, details!" He swung around them in a half circle to face the camera, already pulling out a microphone and holding it out in front of them, "The Underground has simply been abuzz since Unsafe Walkways was unmandated and Safe and Efficient Walkways was mandated! Before anyone could even catch their breath all of Hotland was flipped on its head! Puzzles moved, railings put up, new walkways with directions and signs!"

Chara sighed inwardly and put on their public face, " _With these new improvements it is now possible to walk through Hotland in fifteen minutes rather than an hour all the while risking life and limb over deadly lava._ " Chara held up a finger and leaned forward, quickly saying, " _Of course! None of the historic and culturally significant puzzles and steam mazes native to the area have been removed! The Dreemurrs strongly believe and support monsterkind's history and legacy of puzzle building and want them to be available for young and old to experience and enjoy!_ "

"Then you've heard the complaints about how your new changes are destroying the historic legacy of monsterkind," Mettaton said in an AHA sort of tone, waggling his microphone, "Spikes, lava, and dangerous bridges are the pillars of youth!"

Chara grit their teeth and smiled stiffly, " _The Dreemurrs understand and empathize with the Puzzle Preservation Society and others that support their vision. It is our hope that the changes made thus far are the perfect compromise between preservation of our history and the safely and comfort of our citizens. It is my hope that the changes to Hotland, and eventually to all the regions of the underground, will help to connect our kingdom; to make it easy and possible to walk from New Home to Home, not in eight or nine hours but in one or two. To reestablish connections, to relink families and to make it easier for monsters to settle in some of our beautiful and more remote regions without being cutting off from the Capital and their friends and family._ "

"There are rumors that the Ruins are going to be officially reopened." Mettaton purred hopefully, pushing the microphone closer to their face.

Frisk smiled brightly, "Soon! They have to be repaired a little 'cause they've been kinda empty for a long time but it's gonna be great!" They bounded excitedly, "Home is big and sooo pretty and it's sad that not many monsters live there!"

Chara turned and grabbed Asriel by the shoulders steering him forward, " _But that's the final stage of our improvement plan. Prince Asriel why don't you tell everyone about the next exciting stage that's just begun here in beautiful Waterfall!_ "

Frisk whispered encouragingly in his ear, "You can do it!"

Asriel stared stiffly at the microphone in front of him, "Um, the... the next stage of improvements in Waterfall will be straightening and constructions of paths and bridges, new signposts, uh, puzzle conservation, and informational plaques about the- the-" he looked at Chara in a panic.

"- _unique flora of the area._ "

"-theuniqueplantsthatgrowthere." he gasped out.

Chara shrugged. " _And the cistern,_ " They prompted.

"Oh right! The biggest project will be the repair of the ancient cistern so that it can once again fill with water and provide much needed room for our, our, aquatic monster residents." Asriel finished and sagged with relief as Chara let him edge back, to stand not quite but pretty much behind them.

Mettaton said cheerfully, "That's very good news indeed! The overcrowding of the aquariums at New Home have been an ongoing problem."

 _It's all you, Frisk._

Frisk perked up and and said brightly, "Thank you for always asking, Mettaton! You're the best!"

"Of course, Darling, I'm the star of the Underground after all." Mettaton preened.

Frisk smiled and waved to the camera, "Bye now! We have a lot of work to do."

Mettaton held out a hand to say something then reluctantly pulled it back and glided in front of the camera, "Well my darlings, it seems as if the Underground is getting brighter all the time! Make sure to tune in to MTT News for all your Underground news needs!" He waved and made a cut signal with his hand, throwing the microphone over his shoulder where some luckless intern caught it with their face.

Mettaton drooped slightly, "Did you get everything?" He asked the camera person.

They nodded, "No problems, MTT, sir."

"Good, take it all back to the studio and get started on the audio leveling, I'll be up in a bit to make final cuts for tonights broadcast. Oh, and good work today."

"Yes, sir, MTT, sir!" the camera person said and hurried after the rest of the camera crews heading for the boat landing.

"It seems every time we meet you're busy with something new." Mettaton said, "Don't forget that you're children, darlings, there's no need to rush."

Frisk and Chara smiled, "Thanks _Thank you_. But we have a fun day once a week! _And most evenings._ "

"Ugh. Could you not do that?" Asriel said, "It's really creepy."

Chara turned to Asriel and smiled.

He flinched, "I take it back!"

Chara dropped their creepy smile and snickered.

"Well. I must be going, I have deadlines!" Mettaton said with a wave. "We should have lunch sometime, with Blooky. They are so fond of you."

"Yes!" Frisk insisted on a hug and they all said their goodbyes.

" _Spikes and dangerous bridges are the pillars of youth._ " Chara muttered, " _Where have I heard that before...?_ "

"Pap." Frisk said, "He says it all the time and makes sad faces whenever you talk about railings and puzzle byways for Snowdin."

Chara groaned. " _Betrayed by our own_."

"Hey," Asriel said nervously, "how'd I do? I mean I've been reading all the stuff you give me every night so, I mean, I'm trying to memorize it."

"You did great!" Frisk said, "Soon you'll be all cool and professional like Chara!"

"I get so nervous..." He wrung his hands, "I just feel like I shouldn't be... I feel like a phoney. How can you be so calm all the time, Chara?"

Chara slung their arm over his shoulder, " _Buddy-chum-ol pal of mine, I hate every minute of it. If I had a choice I'd rather spend the rest of my life locked away in my room reading._ "

"Wha-! But you seem so-"

" _I pretend. Just like the good old times, remember when we'd play monsters versus humans, and you were the God of Hyper-Death? Hero of monsterkind._ "

"Not so loud!" Asriel hushed them, looking intensely embarrassed. "That's different!"

"What about when you were Flowey and you always tried to be scary? You did that really well!" Frisk said.

"Tried!? I was scary!" Asriel said indignantly, "I practiced! It was really scary! You were scared!"

Frisk giggled and nodded.

"It was!" he insisted, crossing his arms.

"Asriel!" Toriel said as she walked over, "Are you ready to go back home?"

He mumbled something under his breath.

Toriel sighed and patted his head. "What has you all riled up this time, my child?"

"Nothing." Asriel muttered.

Toriel shook her head and smiled. "Well, Chara, Frisk, I was hoping you might be able to come over for dinner tonight for a little celebration."

Chara pulled a small ragged notebook out of their pocket and flipped it open, " _I still have to go see Alphys and..._ " they groaned, " _The leaders of the Puzzle Preservation Society._ "

"Oh dear." Toriel placed her hand on her cheek, "I thought you had managed to come to an agreement?"

"About established puzzles." Chara said, putting the notebook away, "But they want to monsters to be able to install new puzzles along the road which would totally defeat the purpose of the new walkways. I offered to designate puzzle construction areas but they won't budge."

Toriel said, "Well..."

"I'll do it." Asriel said, a faint glint in his eye, "I'll talk to them."

There was a significant pause.

"I can do it!" Asriel insisted.

"Perhaps I should come along." Toriel said.

"Mom!"

Toriel smoothed his ears, "We both know you can become very, intense, Asriel."

"...Fine," he muttered.

"It will be good practice for learning to control your temper."

" _Thanks Mom, Asriel._ " Chara said.

Toriel smiled fondly, "Of course, my child. I'm very proud of all the work you and Frisk are doing for the Underground but you don't have to do it alone. If you need help you only have to ask. Now, dinner will be at six thirty but feel free to come by as soon as you finished with Alphys and do invite Sans and Papyrus. It's been too long since they've been over."

"Ok!" Frisk said.

They hugged Toriel and Asgore and hurried down to the ferry, taking it to Alphys lab, texting Sans and Papyrus about dinner along the way. Inside the lab, on the floor opposite Alphys computer and monitor array were large heaps of various scrap metals and wires.

"Back here!" Alphys called.

Frisk hurried to the conveyer belt and rode it back to Alphys apartment. She was standing at her work table and excitedly waved them over. Books were laid out all over the edges of her table, held open with clothes pins and rulers. In the center of the table was a blueprint.

"It's finished!" She said excitedly, "O-or I hope so!"

Chara leaned over to get a better look at all the complex drawing. " _This is amazing, Alphys!_ "

"We can't really g-get enough uh, computer parts to make something really high tech so I designed it based on human cable-cars!" She pointed out the various parts on the design, "It will run on magical electricity, that will run through a cable along the ceiling of the route. I estimate it will be able to reach a top speed of fifteen kilometers per hour and will be able to hold sixty passengers, twenty eight seated." She lifted the blueprint up and pulled out a map, laying it on top. "It will have to start down here in Hotland because of New Homes is too high up in the mountain, if it could travel in a straight line f-from Hotland to Home with no stops, it would only take fifteen minutes."

" _Fifteen minutes?!_ "

"Of course it can't r-really go in a straight line, with stops at Waterfall and Snowdin and along this route, it will take probably, forty-five minutes?" She traced along a line drawn on the map that went through Hotland, veered along right along the caverns of Waterfall to its one town, left to Snowdin and then almost straight to Home. There Alphys had marked a number of possible routes, "There's not really a big enough entrance into the old capital so a tunnel will have to be dug."

Chara nodded, " _I'll ask Petunia to come talk to you about it. She's our head engineer for the revitalization project. Once they reach Home they can do some surveys while they repair the about materials?_ "

"Oh!" Alphys jumped nervously, "The, um, the dump sorting crews have found a lot of metal but I'm not sure it will be enough. Just the rails are going to require s-so much. It's a bit of pickle."

Frisk giggled.

Alphys relaxed a little and smiled, "I'm s-sure we can do it though!"

Frisk lifted up the map and looked down at the blueprint underneath, "How'd they get enough to build the core? It's really big."

Alphys blinked, "...The core? That's right! It used an incredible amount of metal. They must have gotten it from somewhere." She pushed the books around, pulled open drawers, "I could've sworn I've seen something about the core around here, notes... or something. I'm sure I'll find it! Or ask around, there has to be s-some monsters still around from the building of the core who would know..."

She reluctantly pushed the drawers closed and straightened out her desk, "A-anyway! I've been studying the elevators in the, u-undergound labs. They move a lot further, a lot faster than the elevators that go from here up to the Capital. If I can figure out how, maybe I can install an express elevator from New Home to Hotland... or maybe from MTT to Hotland. Mettaton would th-throw a fit if I made something that bypassed his resort."

"He would be soo mad." Frisk giggled.

Alphys smiled and played with her claws nervously, "That's e-everything so... I don't s-suppose you want to watch anime w-with me? I mean, if your b-busy that's fine, I understand..."

Frisk pulled out their phone, "We have an hour?"

Chara shrugged, " _Sounds good to me. What episode did we end on last time?_ "

Alphys lit up, "We'd just watched Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, The Devilish Deception! Where Mew Mew's best friend turned out to be the reincarnated possessed Dark Lady! But before she was only the Dark Lady at night and never remembered turning into her but the Dark Lady finally took over her mind and now Mew Mew has to save her and-"

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(Next and Last Update: Wednesday, August 24th)


	50. Epilogue 6

(Note: Thank you so much to the support on this story and for reading! I'd really appriciate a farewell comment, if you feel comfortable. Moving on to new projects tends to be very lonely so I'd like that.

In the afterword I'll outline my next major undertale writing projects and give a little synopsis of them so please give it a look! And Thank you again!)

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Epilogue 5

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 _Years later..._

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"so this is where you've been hiding, huh?" Sans asked.

Frisk turned from where they were sitting in the middle of the flowers as Sans walked out of the shadowed stone cavern into the circle of light provided by the hole in the ceiling. Everywhere the light touched golden flowers bloomed, filling the cavern with a sweet smell.

Sans shuffled up the edge of the flowers, his scuffed shoes had no laces and he was stepping on the backs, "you get tired of playing with the barrier?"

Frisk shook their head, "I had something important I needed to do here."

Sans raised his brows, "taking up gardening?"

Frisk giggled and shook their head again.

"this is where you fell in?"

They nodded.

"it was tough on you, huh?" Sans asked, glancing up at the broken stone above them. "but i'm glad it happened."

Frisk looked around at the golden flowers, "...Me too."

Sans put his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels, "you must have a reason for being here. it's one of your work days."

"I just..." Frisk hesitated, "...Is the machine done?"

Sans stiffened slightly, "machine?

"The new one in your lab." Frisk said, plucking a golden flower and spinning it between their fingers. They didn't looked up at him, watching the twirling petals. "I'm not very good at machines but I think it's meant for me, right? Chara said it was. In case I become an anomaly." They played with the flower anxiously, "You built it in your lab so even if I reset it would still be there because time is stopped in your lab for things but not people," Frisk hesitated and thought for a moment then corrected themselves, "It's a quantum singularity, that acts upon the room and its contents but does not have enough energy to exert the same effect on living things. But even if it did work on living things, once you stepped into the room you'd be frozen in time too so it wouldn't do any good."

"did alphys tell you about the machine?" Sans asked, sounding tired.

Frisk shook their head, "No. I did notice she's been nervous lately though. She probably hated helping you make it but couldn't say no. She's not very good at saying no."

Sans sighed, "i was hoping you'd never have to know about it."

"It's ok." Frisk said, rubbing a flower petal between their fingers, "I asked you to make sure I never went bad like Flowey. It's a good thing.…." they plucked the petal off and pressed it tight between their fingertips. Frisk looked up at Sans anxiously, "Will... would it be painful?"

Sans shook his head, "the machine? no. it's just a life support system, to keep you alive but unconscious. it'd be like sleeping. it's supported by magic so should extend your life three or four times over. knocking you out might be painful but-" he shrugged.

"And you'll be able to protect the underground from anything with too much determination," Frisk said.

Sans grinned mercilessly, "no one will be able to take control of the time line again, ever, not if i can help it. but..." his smile relaxed and he shrugged, "you're a good kid, i don't think i'll ever have to use it. it's just... in case."

"Once I die, can you take my soul and maybe keep it doing the same thing?" Frisk asked hopefully, "It ought to be possible, like the souls in the barrier, casting even after their bodies died. Even if I don't become an anomaly I'd like you to do that with my soul, I want to stay and protect this place and all of monsterkind forever. Can I?"

"heh." Sans grinned and rocked back on his heels, "sure, anything you want kid." he looked up at the barrier above, clear as a mill-pond showing blue skies and drifting wispy clouds, "they say the circle in the delta rune is an angel from the surface. in a thousand years time they might pray to the human angel who protects monsters from evil."

Frisk frowned, "You could just hide me away, no one has to know."

"nah, once you're gone, they'll need a new Hope," he winked at them, "that'll do nicely. Hope is important to monsters."

"Yeah I know." Frisk smiled. A breeze from up above slunk down into the cavern, curling around the ring of golden flowers and rustling through them.

"so, why'd you need the machine finished? what's this place got to do with it?" Sans asked.

"This." Frisk pointed to the save point, etched into the world and the timeline when they first fell into this place. It was a golden, four point star in their mind, bigger than any save point they had ever made themselves. And it never faded.

Sans stared at the empty space then looked at Frisk with a raised eyebrow.

Frisk smiled briefly at his expression. They explained, "When I fell down here, I think I died... I think the fall killed me." They looked up at the distant ceiling, "Remember, in the beginning I could only use my powers if I died?"

Sans nodded.

They continued, "It started here. I died and it woke the determination in my soul and that surge of determination brought me back, awakened Chara and bound us together. At least, that's what I think happened. It made this point my beginning. When I reset it was to here." They pointed to the spot in the middle of the flower bed, "If I ever reset again, it would be to here."

Sans stiffened, staring at the empty air.

"The reset really was an accident." Frisk said with a sigh, "I thought it was my fault at first, and Chara thought it was theirs but it was just an accident. ...Being back here and remembering everything that had happened all at once we both felt a surge of determination that sent us back to this point because... I never learned how to control my magic. I never tried to understand what I was doing." Frisk put a hand over their soul, throbbing in sympathy for what had happened so long ago, "But I don't want to go back, ever," They said softly, "I'm so happy here."

Sans shifted his weight but didn't say anything.

"So I started studying the save point when I had free time."

"free time?" Sans chuckled, "didn't know you had any of that. did you schedule it in?"

"I found a little," Frisk grinned and continued, "I studied your lab too, that's how I found the machine. I wanted to studied how the room and this save point effected time, because they're both fixed points on the timeline. ...I think I understand now and I've been saving up my determination."

"you finally figured out how to save it up then?" Sans asked, "i know that's been a pet project of yours since you changed the barrier."

Frisk grimaced, "It's really awful. Whenever I get a surge of determination, instead of using it I hold onto it. It's like wanting burp but you can't or like... having heartburn."

Sans shrugged, "you lost me there, must be a human thing."

Frisk mirrored his shrug and continued, "I need as much determination as when I first fell. I think I have enough now," They licked their lips nervously.

"what are you going to do?" Sans asked curiously.

"I want to move the reset point forward," Frisk said, "To this point right now. And if it works I'll keep moving it forward, every year, as a fail safe it something goes horribly wrong." They looked over at him and smiled reassuringly, "No more going back to the beginning. The new beginning will be right here, right now."

San relaxed, "no more do overs?" he said softly, hope creeping into his voice.

They studied his face, "Is that ok?"

"course it is, kid." He grinned, "you know how i feel about being stuck in a loop. 'course," His eyes glanced up in thought, "from how you've described your save points and the data we've been able to gather it's just as likely that pushing that much determination into the save point will shatter it."

Frisk nodded, "That's fine. Then I'll just use the save points I make myself, like I always have."

Sans shrugged.

They slowly stood up, brushing dirt off their legs and stretched. Frisk glanced back at Sans and he gave them a reassuring nod.

Frisk soul blazed from their chest, filling the cavern with red light. They took a deep breath, and reached out to the save point, determination thrumming though every fiber of their being. Their magic shot through the point in time, with its nerves driven deep into the flow of time, bound to Frisk like an anchor. Their wrapped determination around the connection, covering, twisting, tearing and wrenching it free from the timeline. The save point wavered. Frisk clenched their jaw, determination flooded through them like molten lead and sank into the save point until it brightened and they could see -everything-

Frisk gasped and almost lost their grip.

They shook their image from their mind and focused on now, forcing the save point to this point in time, this moment. They held the moment in their heart, a perfect future, built with their own hands, with all their friends and family. This place, this _now,_ this was their home. A second surge to determination followed the first, and the save point flared white with magic and sank deep into the timeline.

They blinked and stared down at the golden flowers, all leaning out as if blown by an gust of wind. Frisk could still feel the weight of the save point like a chain binding them to the timeline but now, it was right here. They smiled.

"holy crap, kid." Sans said, eyes wide, "that was... something. i'm not sure i've ever felt so much raw magic before."

Frisk stumbled over to Sans, legs shaking, and hugged him.

"whoa, you alright?" Sans wrapped an arm around their back and gripped Frisk's arm with his other in case they collapsed.

They squeezed him tight, "...I'm just..." they let out a breath.

Ha patted their back. "relieved, huh?"

"Yeah...but..."They stepped back the relief slowly fading, their eyes flicking back and forth in recollection of what they had seen.

"kid?"

Frisk glanced up at him, their mouth pressed into a thin line. "...When I..." their brown knit together and they paused to rub their face on their sleeve. Their hands were still shaking with adrenaline. "When I pulled the save point free from the timeline, I filled it with determination to keep it stable and for a second I saw..."

"saw?" Sans prompted.

"A branching path, a multitude of possibilities all built on...my choices." Frisk swallowed, "I saw timelines- I saw timelines where I..." Their voice choked in their throat, "...killed everyone in the underground and then Chara and I destroyed the world. And timelines where I never left the Ruins or Snowdin. I saw timelines where I only killed in self-defense and when I tried to leave through the barrier I was caught in the lines of power and trapped in darkness forever." They shuddered.

Sans squeezed their arm and gave them a sympathetic pat, "i lived it once with prince pouty. i know what can happen... i guess, we're lucky with how things turned out. everybody's pretty happy."

Frisk was quiet. They looked down at their hands.

"you didn't do any of those things, frisk." Sans said quietly.

Their brow furrowed, "...but I could have. An alternate timeline couldn't be created from an action I would never take. I am capable of all of those things and in realities sitting right alongside our own, I did do those things."

"eh..." Sans rubbed his head, "i mean... you're right..."

Frisk looked at the flowerbed, bathed in dappled sunlight, "Even the timeline I accidentally reset. Somewhere it still exists, with a Frisk that didn't go back to the Ruins that day with Pop-pop. A Frisk that choose to stay home."

Sans stepped up next to them and bumped their shoulder gently, "y'know, kid, every choice you made to get you here changed you. you're not the same kid that first fell down that hole, not anymore."

"...Yeah..." they nodded.

"at least i know you've been keeping up on the reading i gave you."

Frisk made a face, "it's confusing and awful and there's all this math. I have to use a _dictionary_ when I read..." they grumbled.

Sans chuckled. "yeah, but you're figuring it out."

"I guess."

Chara sighed, " _So... if we're done with all the grim dark bullshit, can we head home?_ "

"what's your rush, kiddo?" Sans said flippantly.

" _Pap and I are going to bake a chocolate cake today._ " Chara headed for the cavern exit.

"...cake, huh?" Sans appeared ahead of them, "i know a pretty good shortcut."

Chara kept walking, " _No freakin way._ " They pulled out their phone and clicked it on, checking the time and picked up their pace.

"the trolley?" Sans chuckled, "it's been up and running for a week. you don't gotta ride it every day."

" _You mean, it's_ only _been running for a week._ " Chara said as they walked past him, " _And I'm going to ride it every damn chance I get._ " They shouted over their shoulder at him, " _It's my crowning glory, proof of that all that stupid paperwork and diplomatic bs was worth it!_ "

"geez. no need to shout." Sans said from a few feet in front of them.

Chara narrowed their eyes and stalked past, pausing briefly to grind their knuckles on Sans head and-

He popped ahead of them, "you're gonna miss the chara exspress." Sans said walking around the corner.

" _DON'T CALL IT THAT!_ " Chara shouted after him.

Sans laugh echoed distantly through the Ruin tunnels, "...king fluffybuns really does pick out the best names..."

Frisk giggled and ran down the hall to catch up with him.

In the distance the bell on the Chara Express chimed faintly as it arrived at Home station.

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The End.


	51. Afterword

Afterword:

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I want to thank everybody that's read this story. It's been a real labor of love and I can't express how much the support I've received from reviews and comments has meant to me. Just, really, Thank you.

.

For those of you interested in knowing about my next writing projects, they will be Undertale stories. My main focus will be, A Cast Shadow, the first five chapters are up already and I will be posting a new chapter weekly, starting next Wednesday, 8/31/16.

A Cast Shadow takes place in a world where Royal Scientist W.D. Gaster's creation didn't kill him. Instead...

Gaster tapped the papers with one finger, "I suspected as much... It seems the machine caused temporal instability in the nature of reality. In order to not shatter, it pulled our young Frisk to this time, which relieved pressure on the structure of the timeline and resulted in only some minor side effects."

"Your face melting is not a minor side effect, doc. You coulda died." Jack sighed.

"Very nearly!" Gaster said excitedly, "In fact of all the possible outcomes, this was the most unlikely, an astronomically small chance. The likely outcome was that the machine malfunction would have resulted in the timeline shattering and rebuilding in the moment of the explosion, likely without us in it. We all would have ceased to exist." He turned back to the previous page, rescanning the data, "Fascinating isn't it?"

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In addition to weekly updates of, A Cast Shadow. I will also be posting bi-weekly chapters of shorter stories. The first of which is called, Firelight, and I posted the first chapter today!

You all know GoatMom. Well, maybe you'd like some FireDad?

A Frisk with weak lungs, prone to sickness falls into the underground. It's fun and fascinating at first, until they begin to cough and grow ill and then... Frisk knows they don't have a lot of time. On their way out they happen to meet a fiery barkeep whose magic might be just what Frisk needs. A moment of kindness that changes both of their lives forever.

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I have another short story that will start after Firelight is done, on the same bi-weekly schedule. Blood and Dust, my mobstertale au will follow either A Cast Shadow or the second short story, whichever ends first.

No Promises! BUT I have some ideas for a sequel to Reach Out. I don't plan on working on it until after finishing the above, aforementioned stories. If I do, when I do, I'll post the first chapter of the sequel on the end of Reach Out, so you can keep following or bookmark this story to make sure you don't miss it. No spoilers but, it will take place ten years after Reach Out and have to do with the barrier.

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Below this I decided to throw in some of my writing/character notes, a sort of dvd extra. They're just notes I write to myself on the bottom of my stories to help shape the story and characters. I thought maybe a couple people might be interested.

That's it, so Thank you again! Hopefully I'll see you again!

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Notes:

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Heroes aren't fearless. Heroes are brave, bravery requires fear, and fear is born of loving something enough that its loss would break you.

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 _._ "I'd rather you hate me a thousand times every day than have to mourn you." Frisk said. "the stars don't mean anything if it means sacrificing monsters for them. I won't do it." (never used but I loved it too much not to keep it here.)

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I thought of a lot of different reasons for Frisk not breaking the barrier but in the end I threw them all out because what I wanted most of all was for it to be a selfish choice. I wanted Frisk to take all this powerlessness and frustration from the beginning of the story, and turn it into power and control, a dangerous thing in the hands of a child. I wanted them to make a choice that wasn't right and yet wasn't wrong, not for them. A selfish choice made out of selfish desires.

The Frisk of a pacifist run is an inherently selfless person, they suffer and bleed and die for monsterkind, not just to free them but also just to not hurt them in battle. So, if you take someone so selfless and finally give them the courage and strength to be selfish, well, their selfishness might be a lot different than you think it will be. After all, selfless is to give power to others, selfish is to take control yourself, to take your own fate into you hands.

A passive child who always did everything to please others, what would such a child do when they finally decided to be selfish? I suppose this story is the answer to this question.

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Frisk is physically eight years old, and a bit small for their age. However, they've lived enough time to be actually about nine years old and they've lived through enough really trying events to be older still, ten or eleven, an old soul and a child's fear. Yet they act a lot younger and talk simply, almost verging on baby-talk when they're really upset. Is it because they were so quiet, silent even, most of their life up to the events in the underground or is it a learned defense mechanism to try and win adults over? Is it conscious or subconscious?

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The simple equation of the font household: Papyrus likes to take care of people. Sans like to make Papyrus happy. Sans facilitates Papyrus' needs. Papyrus takes care of Sans. A self contained circle. However things start to break down for Sans if Papyrus doesn't need him anymore. A huge amount of Sans identity is tied up in his brother.

Sans personality focus hc: Make his brother happy. Always take the path of least resistance. Is 100% an enabler if it follows the path of least resistance. Enable Papyrus' naivety, enables Frisk's risk taking in canon and Frisk's recklessness in this story.

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Chara's biggest weakness, completely guileless people

Morbid sense of humor

They might have loved me once but could they ever again. Could they every forgive me?

I wish I could've known you when I was alive... maybe things would have turned out differently.

I have to laugh at my own suffering so why shouldn't I laugh at the suffering of others.

Chara hates everyone in their village, it's insinuated that they were abused in someway. I've seen a lot of theories that Chara was bullied or ostracized or even that they village literally treated Chara like a demon, terrorized them or the like but my theory is simply that Chara was being hurt in some way and the people of the village knew, or gossiped about it and they did nothing. This is the worst trait a person can have, according to Chara, this apathy in the face of suffering. If you see suffering and can fix it you should. That is why they decided to break the barrier themselves, they wouldn't leave so many to suffer when they could fix it themselves.

That makes of the foundation of Chara's beliefs, If you can help someone, you should; and if you hurt someone, you should be punished.

Atop this foundation, they learned from Frisk that you can make up for your mistakes. If you hurt someone and they will not punish you, you can make things right, repay your debt.

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Frisk trusts Chara and will do anything to make their relationship work because Chara is the one person in their life who can never leave them.

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I think the most hilarious part of Sans telling Frisk to ask for help is that Frisk has absolutely no concept of how to ask people for help. They never did in the game and they don't here. It's not that they think, oh I won't bother him or he can't help me here, it just never occurs to Frisk that this is what he means, they've done everything for and by themselves for so long that they automatically try to solve everything by themselves.

Their innate power, like sans/paps bones, is their ability to sense magic? Can never form magic attacks.

Teleporting, they start out pulling, needing a point to focus on. They learn to push, they'll never be able to teleport as far as sans, mostly out of fear. Teleport with small jumps from one region to another, uses a lot more energy. As they get older they get better at stopping time. In the beginning they stop it by physically restraining time, by watching Sans they learn to step out of the time stream themselves which requires a lot less initial energy and no upkeep energy. Maybe twenty or thirty years down the line they learn the take loading to a new level. Again they start out with pulling themselves to a fixed point but may eventually learn how to push themselves back, by small increments, of course, out of fear of the accidental reset. It's the sort of skill they would learn out of necessity not desire.

Frisk and Chara's relationship, at the end of the story, should be a parallel to Chara and Asriel's relationship but this time with Frisk in the dominate position. It's all about power and selfishness again. This time though, their relationship isn't as one sided and the two are able to fight about things and argue and compromise.


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